No front desk personnel at Espanola town office

If you need a marriage license, want to know details of a bylaw or apply for a building permit, you will have to put your request in writing or make an appointment at Espanola town office.
Angela Kelly, Espanola’s long-time administrative assistant officially retired on Friday after 30 years of service, but last month council voted to not fill the position.
CAO Cynthia Townsend presented a report to the council last week outlining how the vacancy will affect the community.
She stated with no person at the front desk, a telephone will be installed and visitors will have to navigate the phone system to find the right person to talk to.
Townsend says one of the biggest voids will be the processing of over $14-million in cash receipts since there will be no capacity to enter payments accurately on any given day.
Deputy Mayor Bill Foster accepted the report stating he felt the council has made a mistake.
He was supported by councillor Sandra Hayden who pointed out Espanola will be the only municipality of over 400 in Ontario that does not have someone at the front desk.
Hayden, Foster and Mayor Jill Beer all voted in support of filling the vacancy at the meeting last month.
Councillors Maureen Van Alstine, Ken Duplessis, Ray Dufour and Heather Malott voted to eliminate the position.
For a copy of Townsend’s report as to the loss of services and realignment of others, go to the website espanola.ca, click on council, then click on Agenda-Minutes-Streams, the information is in the agenda for July 14th.