Ballston Spa Mayor Takes Leave of Absence

Ballston Spa Mayor Frank Rossi has announced that he is taking a leave of absence for health reasons. 

The announcement came at a village meeting on January 26. Rossie said realization that he had to take his health more seriously came after the death of former Ballston Spa Mayor Christine Fitzpatrick.

“Health becomes paramount, and right now my health is not in great shape,” Rossi said. “I’m not looking for sympathy on that, but we are at a point where I have to sort of look out for myself a little bit.”

Rossi said he doesn’t know when he will be back and said that being a public official can have a drastic impact on your mental and physical health. 

“It’s one of those times in my life that I need to take care of me,” Rossi said. “ I apologize to the community for that fact because I feel like I’m letting you all down in that respect. At the same time, it’s what you have to do sometimes.”

During the leave of absence Rossi has advised people seeking information and regular updates to go to the Village Facebook page and website, as opposed to his. While initially Rossie had planned on unpublishing his page, he later put it back up after he said someone threatened him with a lawsuit. 

Rossie’s announcement came after a controversial bill removing a residency requirement for Village appointed board positions — such as the planning board — was tabled for further consideration after public outcry. 

It’s unclear when Rossi will return to day-to-day duties. While during the meeting he said that he wasn’t stepping away permanently, he also said that he couldn’t provide any more specifics about when he was returning. 

In the meantime, he’ll still handle things like signatures while other duties he can’t complete will be handled by Deputy Mayor and Village Trustee Bernadette VanDenise-Perez, according to News10.