Corporation Counsel Charlie Sarris has reportedly decided to resign his position as a deputy town attorney in the town of North Greenbush, according to City Councilman Bill Dunne, D-District 4.

Dunne said that he recieved a letter from Sarris today stating that he would soon be resigning from the position.

Sarris had received a memo from City Council President Clement Campana, D-At Large, last Thursday requesting that he provide his letter of resignation for his North Greenbush position prior to the council meeting later that night where councilmen had planned to vote on his official appointment to the position of corporation counsel.

During the meeting, Sarris had told the council that he was hurt by there request when two weeks prior, none of them had openly objected to his outside jobs during a Finance Committee meeting.

Dunne noted that the council will still need to vote on Sarri's appointment since the resolution was tabled during the meeting.

"We're going to have to (vote on his approval), but we do want to see the official letter of resignation to North Greenbush first," said Dunne. "It's not that we don't believe Mr. Sarris, but we certainly want all our T's crossed and I's dotted."

Look for further information on the matter over the next few days from Troy Talk and The Record.

City Council President Clement Campana apparently wasn't satisfied with the response of Corporation Counsel Charlie Sarris to his questions about a lawsuit filed against a city employee last year to remove a reverter clause from the former Verizon Building on Sixth Avenue.

In his reponse to Campana's questions about why the City Council had never been notified of the issue, considering that its members also make up the Troy Urban Renewal Agency - which had control over the reverter which was enacted in 1973, Sarris had said that the city had not disposed of any property and that Sondra Little was named as the defendant in her capacity as Commissioner of Planning and Community Development.

"Your comments are erroneous and extremely misleading to the general public," wrote Campana in a letter Thursday. "The caption of the verified complaint states in plain English that Ms. Little was being sued in her capacity as Executive Director and Secretary of the Troy Urban Renewal Agency."

Supreme Court Judge Michael Lynch ruled on Sept. 18 in the LLC’s favor after receiving no opposition to the motion from the city.

The matter is not believed to have any impact on the city's current lease on the Verizon Building or its plan to use the structure as a temporary City Hall.

During their Finance Committee meeting Thursday, members of the City Council were formally introduced to Charlie Sarris, who is currently serving as the city's temporary corporation counsel after Dave Mitchell's "service with the city of Troy concluded" at the end of City Hall business hours last Friday.

Tutunjian still would not say exactly what led to Mitchell's departure.

Sarris greet the councilmen at the start of the meeting and promised "nothing but cooperation" in working with them. And when later asked if additional legislation could be drawn up for the council's March meeting, he assured them that it wouldn't be a problem.

We've got to say it was quite a different atmosphere compared to past finance meetings where personal issues led to large shouting matches and the occasional threat of a lawsuit between Mitchell, Council President Clem Campana, D-At Large, and Councilman Bill Dunne, D-District 4.

We've heard that Tutunjian has 90 days to either name a permanent corporation counsel or go without one, but even if Sarris only serves on a temporary basis we think it will be interesting to watch how things play out in future meetings/discussions.