Hancock’s town clerk, who was arrested in late October for sharing confidential personal information with a friend, has resigned.
Joan Joseph was arrested on Oct. 31 and charged with violating RSA 260:14, the Driver Privacy Act, which establishes records from the Division of Motor Vehicles are confidential. Joseph was charged with one count of violating the act by knowingly disclosing protected motor vehicle information, including a vehicle owner’s name and address. She gave the information to a longtime friend and fellow teacher at ConVal High School Richard Ellingwood.
Ellingwood said in an arrest affidavit that he asked Joseph for the information because the plate number had been in his family for a long time. He said he thought if he could contact the owner, the person would surrender the plate.
Since Joseph was arrested for handing off the information, she has been continuing to carry out her duties in the town office.
Town Administrator Diane Kendall said in an email shortly after Joseph was arrested that the select board is only given authority by state statutes to remove a town clerk for insanity or incapacity RSA 41:12, or for irregular accounting RSA:41:16-c. The Select Board never initiated a removal process after Joseph was arrested.
“She is resigning on her own will,” Kendall said after a Select Board meeting Tuesday evening where Joseph’s resignation was publicly announced.
It’s a decision that will go into effect in January, Kendall said.
Deputy Town Clerk Beth GrosJean will fill in until an election is held in March where voters will decide who should permanently carry out the remainder of Joseph’s term.
The town clerk works an average of seven hours, although Kendall said those hours can be extended or shortened depending on the time of year. As an example, she said the office is open more hours during elections. The position is an hourly non-exempt post.
The town will also have to recruit a deputy clerk to run for the spot in March. The deputy’s hours vary and the person in the position is paid a stipend.
Violating the DPA is classified as a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum of one year in prison and a $2,000 fine.
Joseph has a pretrial hearing scheduled on Jan. 30 at 8:30 a.m., although an agreement could be reached by the two parties before that time.