Ballston Spa Mayor Returns from Hiatus

After a brief hiatus due to medical reasons, Mayor Frank Rossi announced his to day-to-day duties in Ballston Spa. 

The announcement was made in a speech posted on Facebook on February 26. In the speech, Rossi talked about the reasons he took a leave of absence and said that he was feeling better. 

“I feel a lot better.” Rossi said. “My blood pressure is much better. My sleep schedule and sleep consistency are much improved. I would have said I was perfectly ready to return to work without hesitation.” 

Rossi had previously announced his decision to take a leave of absence in January, citing mental and physical health issues. His announcement came days after a lawsuit was filed alleging that a building owned by the Rossi family had failed to pay water taxes, as first reported in the Times Union. 

In addition, a second lawsuit has been filed seeking to reverse an ethics board decision taking no action after a company Rossi’s brother works for received a contract to renovate Wiswall Park in Ballston Spa. 

In his speech Rossi addressed the two lawsuits, pushing back on the allegations and saying that in both cases, the ethics board ruled in his favor. He also talked about the personal toll, saying that while he doesn’t care about his reputation, he cares about the reputational harm to the village and his family caused by the allegations. 

Rossi announced that he would not be resigning, citing the positive work he’d done over the last four years and the desire to continue not just his own work but that of past mayors and residents. 

“Would me resigning tonight resolve these issues and solve the problems the village is facing?” Rossi said  “No in fact, resigning would exacerbate the problems and the harm, in my view, it would derail what we’ve worked so hard to achieve, not just in these four years, but during Christine Fitzpatrick’s time, Larry Woolbright’s time, John Romanos time, Jim Capasso’s time, Burke Grandon’s time and Jim Capasso’s father’s time as mayor.”