Herr

Johnstown Treasurer Thomas Herr has been charged with two felonies alleging he falsified business records and stole more than $6,000 in payments made to the city, Johnstown police announced Tuesday.

Herr was arrested Tuesday and charged with:

Herr was released pending arraignment in Johnstown City Court, Police Chief David Gilbo said in a statement.

Mayor Amy Praught said Herr resigned from the post Tuesday afternoon and agreed not to retake the seat if he is re-elected and if voters decide in a referendum to keep the position elected, rather than appointed.

Herr had been blocked from city hall and city finances since the investigation began in August, Praught said. But he’s uncontested on the ballot for re-election next month to the office he won in 2021, even as the city has a referendum on whether to make the elected position an appointed one.

The investigation began Aug. 18 when Common Council members voted, 3-0, to “take legal and administrative action to preserve evidence and investigate alleged misconduct by the city treasurer.” Members Scott Miller and Bradley Hayner were absent.

The city had been notified by the New York State and Local Retirement System that it had missed more than $1.57 million in payments, resulting in fines to the city of $23,600, police said.

An internal review found envelopes in the treasurer’s office from residents making payments to the city, and that more than $6,000 was missing, even though office records showed the funds had been deposited, police said.

Herr would take one payment for personal use, then use a later payment to replace the missing funds, police said.

The investigation also found that the city’s bank accounts had not been reconciled since April 2024, and many transactions were missing or recorded incorrectly, police said, citing an independent accountant’s report.

However, 88 transactions totaling more than $554,000 were found not to be fraudulent, police said.

Praught said many questions remain, although she is confident that $6,000 is the limit of the city’s loss.

If voters choose to convert the elected position into an appointed one, the city will advertise for a replacement. “There will definitely be experience required,” she said.

If voters keep the positive elected and Herr decides not to serve, a second-place vote-getter, a write-in candidate, would get the job, Praught said. If a write-in candidate does not get the seat, she would appoint a treasurer, but still needs to check with elections officials to see whether that would be for the duration of the four-year term, or until a special election — and when such a special election might be.

“There’s a lot of what-ifs right now,” Praught said.

Praught said she did not know Herr before the 2021 election, although they were both elected to their offices at the same time.

“We did not work well together,” she said, in part because she felt the position lacked accountability. “Wow, there needs to be oversight in that department.”

Herr’s tenure followed that of Michael Gifford, who did not seek re-election to the post he held for more than 25 years. Praught said Gifford failed to file required documents with the state for four years before stepping down, and the city was unable to borrow money.

He is also the subject of an investigation, Praught said, by the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office and state Comptroller’s Office.

In the meantime, Deputy Treasurer Tricia Mosher and Human Resource Manager Sue Conine are sharing the treasurer’s duties, Praught said.

Lily Frank, 8, of Johnstown, bobs for a doughnut Saturday at the Johnstown Harvest Festival in the city’s downtown. Hundreds of people roamed the street, many in costume, listening to live music, buying from vendors and basking in 60-degree, mid-October weather.

Harvesting a doughnut

Burgado

Catholic Charities Food Pantry emergency services and food pantry worker Kathy Bulger unloads a food service truck Saturday.

Catholic Charities executive director Michael Finocchi on Saturday.

PETER R. BARBER Catholic Charities Food Pantry emergency services and food pantry worker Kathy Bulger unloads boxes of food Saturday, October 18, 2025.

Staff at Catholic Charities of Fulton and Montgomery Counties describe their work simply as helping people.

“Catholic Charities really does a lot that even I didn’t know about until I started working here,” said Kathy Bulger, who........

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