By JOHN HOWELL Mayor Frank Picozzi has tapped Lyn D'Abrosca, who has served as interim city clerk since 2018, to fill the job on a permanent basis. The appointment requires City Council confirmation, which is on the agenda for the April 4 meeting. "She
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Mayor Frank Picozzi has tapped Lyn D’Abrosca, who has served as interim city clerk since 2018, to fill the job on a permanent basis.
The appointment requires City Council confirmation, which is on the agenda for the April 4 meeting.
“She has been acting forever,” Picozzi said Tuesday. “She deserves it because of her performance.”
He pointed out that D’Abrosca has run the office with a “skeleton crew” that has been further hampered by the pandemic.
“She soldiers on. She’s a very hard worker,” he said.
Picozzi said he talked with City Council President Steve McAllister and he “fully supported” the appointment.
D’Abrosca was caught off guard when asked about the job. As the appointment requires council confirmation, she had said nothing to her staff. She was appreciative of the mayor’s confidence in her abilities.
A graduate of Toll Gate High who went on CCRI, D’Abrosca, worked at Metropolitan Life Insurance before coming to the city in 2003 to work in land evidence records in the clerk’s office. She worked her way up through the office, which in addition to handling land records oversees vital records, probate and municipal courts and City Council business.
D’Abrosca says she is thankful to have worked “with very talented people who pushed me to succeed.” She said she has followed the advice of her father “to be like a sponge” and soak up as much instruction and advice as people are prepared to give you.
The job has been challenging since former Mayor Joseph Solomon named her acting clerk.
“It’s been a long haul,” she said.
At that time, the staff numbered 11. In an effort to trim costs and hold the line on taxes, Solomon eliminated two positions in the offices and left three vacancies unfilled. The COVID shutdown, followed by periodic quarantines due to exposure to people who tested positive, further comprised the ability of the office to stay on top of the workload.
On top of that, because of the elimination of 30 city jobs, by contract union workers have bumping rights based on their seniority. As a result, D’Abrosca, lost veteran workers whose replacements she then needed to train. D’Abrosca said the office has worked through its backlog and with the exception of some online posting features is up to date.
She said Picozzi has talked about increasing her staff once he has worked through the budget. She is looking forward to that day.
She recognizes Picozzi is facing multiple issues, yet she is confident. She said he listens and looks to resolve issues.
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