Medina village clerk-treasurer announces retirement on June 30

Debbie Padoleski has worked in the clerk’s office for 41 years

Photos by Tom Rivers: Medina Village Clerk Debbie Padoleski, left, and Deputy Clerk Jada Burgess are pictured in August 2019 with a Medina community sign that was refurbished by art students at Medina High School. The sign hangs outside the Village Clerk’s Office at 119 Park Ave.

MEDINA – Debbie Padoleski, the Medina village clerk-treasurer the past eight years, announced she will be retiring on June 30. She has been a hard-working and dependable presence in the village clerk’s office for the past 41 years.

Her resignation was accepted with “extreme regret” by the Village Board on Monday.

Padoleski has been “absolutely invaluable” to the village, said Trustee Owen Toale.

Debbie Padoleski takes notes during Monday’s Village Board meeting at the senior center. Padoelski has served as the village clerk-treasurer the past eight years. She has worked in the village clerk’s office for 41 years.

“It’s going to be a big loss for us,” he said about Padoleski’s retirement. “The village is a much better place because of Debbie Padoleski.”

Padoleski, in a letter to the board, said she submitted her retirement notification with a “heavy heart.” She started in the village clerk’s office at age 19. She praised her predecessor, Peggy Crowley, who worked as village clerk-treasurer for 33 years. Crowley was a big reason why Padoleski made the village clerk’s office her career.

“She taught me how to not take myself or the job too seriously, and maintained a fierce loyalty to the Village of Medina,” Padoleski wrote about Crowley in her letter to the board.

Padoleski said she has been fortunate to work with so many wonderful people over the years – “Mayors, trustees, department heads and co-workers who hold a special place in my heart.”

Padoleski said Jada Burgess, her deputy clerk-treasurer, has always been her right hand, sounding board and friend. Padoleski said the staff in the office has been a “fantastic team.”

She closed her letter, thanking current Mayor Mike Sidari and trustees Owen Toale, Todd Bensley, Marguerite Sherman and Tim Elliott for their service to Medina.

“I appreciate the respect and consideration you have always given me,” Padoleski wrote. “It has been a pleasure to work with all of you, my staff and my fellow department heads.”