Wassus Resigns As St. Lawrence County Emergency Services Director

St. Lawrence County’s longtime Emergency Services Director has resigned.

Mike Wassus submitted his resignation, effective immediately, on Tuesday.

His resignation came in a single page letter that read, “Please accept this letter of resignation, effective immediately, from my position as director of Emergency Services.”

A source says Wassus was given the option of resigning or face strict accountability after allegations of job unavailability surfaced.

Wassus first began working for the county in 1994 as a safety officer and has been Emergency Services Director since 1997 when he replaced Patrick VerSchneider.

A memo was sent Wednesday to all Fire Advisory Board members and members of the HazMat team notifying them of Wassus’ departure and the appointment of Craig Ballard as acting director.

County Administrator Karen St. Hilaire says the position will be advertised and a search committee will be appointed on Monday to look for a replacement.

St. Hilaire says she expects the process to take roughly eight weeks before an appointment is made.