The Jamestown borough office is still closed, and the secretary who resigned Tuesday officially quit Wednesday despite council's vote not to accept her resignation.

Her resignation is connected to a change in her work hours.

"I feel the office hours were changed, not because of convenience for the customers ... but because council felt they needed to punish me for doing my job," Diane Helbig said Friday. "I've decided not to rescind my resignation due to the fact that I can no longer work with a group of unethical and unprofessional people," she said, referring to some council members.

In August, council changed the secretary's hours to 11 am. to 5 p.m. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., citing complaints from residents about the office closing too early for people to pay utility bills and take care of borough business.

Mrs. Helbig said she never heard any complaints or that there were any problems with the hours until August's council meeting.

Mayor Esther McClimans said "never a soul" complained to her.

Mrs. Helbig said that in August, Councilman Doug McElhaney said he had heard at least 50 complaints.

Mrs. Helbig, who lives in West Fallowfield Township, Crawford County, refused to comply with the new hours, saying she was hired seven years ago with the understanding that she be able to leave in time to get her two children off the school bus.

A survey sent to residents Nov. 1 with their utility bills found 37 wanting the new hours and 84 preferring the previous hours, according to Mrs. Helbig. She added that the survey cost the borough $158.

She also said she was being punished for disagreeing with a possible water ordinance amendment in June. "I had asked council to enforce the ordinances and collect the water-sewer bills in a uniform manner that was fair to everyone and not favoring the council. I was doing my job with integrity, and they didn't like that," she said.

Mrs. Helbig said council wanted to amend the ordinance by sending out past-due bills before sending out shut-off notices once a customer is 30 days behind. Then, a water committee would determine who should be sent shut-off notices or go before a magistrate. That, Mrs. Helbig said, could take up to 90 days to get a payment from a delinquent customer.

"I'm concerned that if it came to the committee, it wouldn't be fair. There could be a chance they would favor friends, family or themselves," she said.

Mrs. Helbig added that some council members are one to two months behind on their bills and were when council discussed the amendment in June.

Albert Drake, chairman of the Jamestown Municipal Authority, confirmed that some council members are delinquent on their bills.

Both he and Mrs. Helbig declined to name the council members.

Mrs. Helbig said she brought this to the attention of the municipal authority board and its members were not happy with the possible change because, in some cases, it would take longer to get the bills paid. That could affect the authority's ability to pay back the PENNVEST loan for the water and sewer system.

"They were very concerned," Mrs. Helbig said, explaining that even though the borough leases the water and sewer system from the municipal authority, the authority is responsible for seeing that the loan gets repaid.

"We were quite concerned that it would take longer for people to pay their late bills," Drake said, adding that there seemed to be a backlash against Mrs. Helbig for notifying the authority of the possible amendment.

"We sent a letter in June or July asking to meet with council about this, and they refused," Drake said.

Mrs. Helbig said she plans to move on with her life, spending time with her family and looking for a new job. "I want this to be over with, but also these people need to be accountable for their actions," she said.

In the meantime, the mayor said the municipal building is closed until next week while borough officials try to figure out how to get into the computer. Then they will go through the application and interview process to hire a new secretary.

Drake said the authority is "very concerned" about the utility bills getting paid while the building is closed and during the hiring process.

"I'm not sure who will be doing this," the mayor said. "It's going to be devastating to the whole borough. Everyone is replaceable, but the process of finding the right person will take some time. I'm sad to see her go."

Mrs. Helbig said, "The mayor was very supportive of me and I appreciate that, but it's impossible for me to work with people who have made it impossible for me to respect them. I'm going to miss my job and the people terribly."

McElhaney and Councilmen Delmar Swartz and Tom Ross did not return phone calls. Council President Floyd Owen's number is unlisted.