Moise: 'Let Cheshire Handle the Probate Books'

When the Southington-Cheshire Probate Court moved to Cheshire Town Hall in December, the accounting portion of the court remained in Southington and has been handled by the .

But a message sent by the Board of Finance Wednesday evening brings to question whether the books should be handled by Cheshire now that the court is no longer housed in .

“If the court is going to be based out of Cheshire, then they should also be responsible for handling the books,” said Board of Finance member John Moise. “It seems to me that if the operations are going to be housed in one place, all operations should be handled there.”

The issue came to light as the Board of Finance was asked to approve three appropriations during their meeting at Southington Town Hall Wednesday night. The appropriations are part of routine handling by the finance department, staff said.

Until December, the probate court had been housed at Southington Town Hall with office hours several times a week in Cheshire. The court moved, however, after Matt Jalowiec of Cheshire was elected as probate judge following a controversy that led former Probate Judge Bryan Meccariello to withdraw from the Probate race.

Following Jalowiec’s election, Southington and Cheshire both fought to have the probate court housed in their town hall, but a final decision was ultimately reached when Probate Court Administrator Paul Knierim ruled the court should be housed in the same town as the judge.

The accounting books remained in Southington after the move, however, but Moise and Board of Finance members Kevin Beaudoin and Edward Pocock Jr. indicated Wednesday that the books should have moved as well.

The three voted against a motion for the appropriations, saying that it is an unnecessary burden to ask the finance department to take on the extra work.

“We’ve sat here in the past and listened as staff told us they are overburdened with work,” Moise said. “If they want to house the Probate Court in Cheshire, then they should also be responsible for handling the books. It should all be taken care of in the same place.”

Finance Director Emilia Portelinha and Assistant Finance Director Christina Sivigny, who was promoted to her new role on July 1, each said that the town has handled the books since the move for “continuity purposes.” Sivigny had done the books prior to the move and said Wednesday that she continued to handle the books even after assuming her new role.

“It’s not something that we couldn’t handle,” Portelinha said. “The court serves both towns and there are office hours (in Southington) each week.”

Board of Finance Chairman John Leary agreed with the staff assessment and Leary, Board of Finance Vice Chairman Joseph Labieniec and board member Wayne Stanforth voted in favor of the appropriations.

Due to the split vote, the motion failed. It will now be forwarded to the Southington Town Council for further opinion at their next meeting.