Aug 4, 2021 6 min read

Register of Wills James Roman submitted a 139-page report showing his office’s adoption filings were brought up-to-date before President Judge John DiSalle’s deadline Friday requiring him to get the information in order.

Court Administrator Patrick Grimm said DiSalle has “undergone an initial review of the report” this week, but he’s unsure if the matter is closed or whether the president judge plans to meet with Roman to discuss the situation.

“I think the report leaves some questions unanswered, so I don’t think the judge would consider it closed as of now,” Grimm said, pointing to some adoption records that still must be confirmed. “I think he’s going to follow up with (Roman).”

DiSalle threatened to begin contempt proceedings against Roman last month after 11 adopting filings since April were either incomplete or missing. DiSalle’s order on July 22 gave him until last Friday to complete the work, which Roman said his staff did in about three hours shortly after receiving the request.

The order also required Roman to submit a report explaining why the situation occurred, prompting him to file the voluminous document at the prothonotary’s office Friday morning.

Included in the public report is confidential information of the adoption files that are heavily redacted, along with numerous complaints he had about his staff, such as detailed personnel files with written reprimands for two workers and information about one person on medical leave.

Grimm was concerned about the adoption dockets being included in the report, despite most of the information being redacted, since a mistake could have been made to accidentally release what should be private records.

“I don’t think there was any need to include the (adoption) dockets. The court has access to the docketing information, and for the public it has to be redacted, so I’m not really sure what it accomplishes,” Grimm said. “It could have been just as easily compiled without that.”

Grimm also raised questions about the staffing information – such as termination letters, written reprimands and medical leave dates – being included in the report, although he referred questions about those matters to county Human Resources Director Shelli Arnold, who said she could not comment on the matter.

Roman declined a phone interview Tuesday afternoon, but sent a nearly four-page press release in response.

“There have been no discussions, no phone calls, no memos, and no letters from Judge DiSalle prior to receiving the Administrative Order to the Register of Wills,” he wrote in the press release. “There have been zero complaints from attorneys, customers and/or Washington County employees/staff that have been received regarding the Register of Wills Adoption and Guardianship processes.”

In the report, Roman complained about being short-staffed after various resignations since he began serving as the register of wills and clerk of orphans court in January 2020. But the same month he took office, he created a PowerPoint presentation in which he requested that county officials allow him to reduce the row office’s payroll by more than 20%, which was met with resistance from the county commissioners.

In their response, the commissioners said they understood he had the authority to make changes, but they “strongly disagree and strongly recommend against” terminating employees or possibly face litigation because of previous collective bargaining agreements. Roman said in his press release that county officials denied his request to cut payroll.

Roman accused some staff members of hiding documents, altering paperwork or refusing to cross-train fellow employees in additional positions to offer duplication. Grimm said if this was the case, Roman should have brought the matters to DiSalle’s attention immediately, and the situation still may require further investigation.

By this spring, it became clear his office was falling behind in the adoption filings with a depleted staff of just three workers, prompting him to forbid anyone from taking vacation time in May, according to his report.

One employee, who was being transferred to a district judge’s office elsewhere in the county on June 1, requested to use two weeks vacation at the end of May before starting the new job. Roman denied the request and promptly fired her after she failed to show up for her shift on May 17 in which she was taking a vacation day. DiSalle filed an order to have her hired retroactively to May 17 at the magistrate’s office, allowing her to use the vacation time she had already accrued.

In multiple emails included in the report, Roman communicated with county human resources workers about an employee’s medical leave timeline.

“Register of Wills should be permitted to properly supervise the Register of Wills staff without interference from Judges and Commissioners. On multiple occasions and numerous times, employees have refused to document processes and/or cross-train other employees to complete the work, only to be transferred and rewarded for their refusal to work,” Roman wrote in his report to DiSalle.

“Solution: Employees need to know, Register of Wills is their supervisor and they should follow the Register of Wills requests,” Roman wrote.

Roman also filed a Right-To-Know request on July 22 asking for the audio and video of his “forced testimony” from a hearing before DiSalle earlier in the month over the delay in issuing a marriage license. In addition, Roman filed a Right-To-Know request on July 29 asking for all correspondence between court officials and any lawyers raising concerns about his handling of adoption cases. Grimm has denied both, citing rules that require them to release only financial documents if requested.

His report also includes a July 23 Observer-Reporter op-ed written by commission Chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan in which she criticized the performance of the row offices in the courthouse while asking for the public’s support for a government study commission.

Roman has squared off against the county commissioners in recent months, complaining about their leadership and handling of courthouse funds.

An annual audit released in early June by Auditor Michael Namie concluded that staff turnover in the row office last year shortly after Roman took office contributed to several issues, such as problems with record keeping, internal controls over bank accounts and untimely payments to the state and county. The audit, which looked at how the office operated in 2020, did not raise issues with adoption filings.

The office handles marriage license applications, along with filings for adoptions, guardianships and estates. It also accepts inheritance tax payments for the state Department of Revenue.

“It is my hope and desire to work collaboratively with both the Court and the Commissioners and hope that in the future, we can work on increasing communication and decreasing interference, so that the citizens of Washington County can be best served by all,” Roman said in his news release.