Town Council Approves Hire of New Municipal Clerk

Just in time to prepare for the upcoming presidential election, Parsippany finally has a new person in charge of its troubled clerk's office.

At Tuesday's Township Council meeting, the body unanimously adopted a resolution appointing Yancy Wazirmas to fill the permanent spot, which has been vacant since  in February after a that .

Johnson's job was ended after her months-long absence from Town Hall. Lim said the clerk had been out on medical leave, and that sabbatical was preceded by difficult relations between the clerk and clerk's office employees that began almost the moment Johnson started work in Parsippany. 

The conflict led to separate employment-related lawsuits filed against the town by Johnson and by one former and three current office workers.

agreed to by the Town Council on Aug. 14. The clerk's employees' legal action is still in progress.

In the interim, the office has been managed by interim clerks Mary Cilurso and Carol Kehoe and by Lim.

In the absence of a permanent clerk, the and with basic functions such as supplying the with township meeting minutes in a timely fashion.

While it remains to be seen whether the new clerk will make the office more stable, Wazirmas does bring experience to the job, Lim told Patch. She served Prospect Park as municipal clerk since January 2006 and added the title of the borough's registrar of Vital Statistics a year later.  

Wazirmas won a three-year contract with an annual salary of $71,000 that includes yearly cost of living increases, which are given to all township white-collar employees, said Lim. If she is re-appointed at the end of the three years, Lim said Wazirmas will also receive a $5,000 bonus.

The new clerk will start her work in Parsippany "right after Labor Day," according to Lim.

Among the clerk's duties are: serving as secretary to the council; administering elections; handling and overseeing liquor licenses and licenses for pets, bingo games and raffles; maintaining the filing system of all ordinances and resolutions; keeping records for municipality; managing public-record requests and much more.