Niskayuna fires town IT administrator over recorded phone calls

The Niskayuna Town Board has voted to fire its administrator of information technology for misconduct and incompetence.

The board on Tuesday voted 4-0 to terminate Seth Goldstein at the recommendation of hearing officer John Trela, who oversaw the disciplinary proceedings.

At issue was the fact that the town’s incoming and outgoing phone calls were being recorded for almost two years, without the town’s knowledge or authorization.

Town Attorney Alaina Finan said the issue came to light in April 2024 because a threat was made to an employee, and police wanted to see if the call was recorded.

“When the town voted to implement a new phone system, there was a directive to be issued that no calls at the town were to be recorded,” Finan said.

The town immediately stopped recordings to the town hall, but they kept those to the police system.

Goldstein’s position was to oversee the phone system.

“He’s the only person that had that role,” she said. 

Finan hired an outside company to oversee disciplinary proceedings. Goldstein was placed on paid leave during the investigation. Once the charges were brought, he was on unpaid leave for 30 days. Then he was required to be on paid leave.

The Times Union was first to report the story.

Goldstein’s attorney, Kevin Luibrand, told the paper that his client is being wrongly blamed for this mistake.

Councilman Bill McPartlon had recused himself from voting on the matter because he was part of the internal investigation.