ALBANY - Longtime government employee Jane McNally says she was fired by new Albany County Comptroller Susan Rizzo because of her work on an “unflattering audit” claiming widespread abuses in the county's payroll practices and time-and-attendance reporting.

McNally was one of two employees in the comptroller’s office who were terminated as Rizzo took prompt action during her first day in office. Former county Legislator Ralph Signoracci also was fired, county officials confirmed Friday.

“Considering she knows nothing about me or my work history, I have to believe it was because I worked on the audit,” McNally told the Times Union on Friday. “It does appear that the independence of the comptroller’s office is not going to be there any longer, and no one will be watching how the dollars are spent by the county executive.”

Signoracci was hired by Conners in late 2018 amid a federal investigation into the campaign finances of disgraced Cohoes Mayor Shawn Morse. Even after pleading guilty and being convicted of felony wire fraud, Signoracci kept his position as director of municipal affairs, for which he was paid $83,222 annually.

Rizzo, who was elected to the county seat in November and took office Jan. 1, avoided answering specific questions from a Times Union reporter who she had requested email her questions on Thursday.

“My goal is to provide transparency to the taxpayers of Albany County and to identify areas of measurable savings in a manner not marred by politics,” she responded in a letter on official letterhead at 4 p.m. Friday. “I hope that the taxpayers of the county that elected me, as well as those employed throughout the county, will give me the opportunity to serve them with enthusiasm and deliver tangible results.”

Rizzo apologized for the delay and said she could not answer the questions directly because they were about “private personnel matters.” She is “highly optimistic” about what the office can achieve under her leadership.

“I would, however, like to emphasize that I plan on taking the Department of Audit & Control in a different direction than my predecessor,” Rizzo wrote. “I have great confidence in the potential of my staff, and I am looking forward to working with them as we refocus the department in an effort to provide the highest quality of service to our taxpayers.”

McNally, who has worked in local government in personnel and payroll positions since Albany Mayor Erastus Corning was in office, said she led the audit that was prompted by a county employee “whistleblower” who reported it was common practice for county workers to be on government time when they were working on county Executive Daniel McCoy's 2015 re-election campaign.

Former Comptroller Michael Conners feared some employees who worked on the audit would face retaliation, and warned them of the possibility, McNally said.

At this point, McNally is the only one known to have worked on the audit who was fired.

McNally worked part time in the comptroller’s office for the last four years, previously working for the county’s Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse helping to establish the employment assistance programs in government for 18 years. She said she’s worked in local government since the 1970s, including about 17 years with the city of Albany.

She was paid $37,497 annually for the part-time post in the county comptroller’s office, county officials confirmed.

Keri Kresler, who was hired by Conners after she was terminated from her job at the Albany County Board of Elections amid her working with the comptroller on the audit, remains employed in the department. She provided Conners with a trove of emails and other records that apparently backed up her assertion that multiple county employees performed campaign work on county time. McCoy denies directing employees to do campaign work on county time.

At the close of 2019, Kresler filed a federal lawsuit accusing McCoy and other county leaders of violating her civil rights by cutting her salary, demoting her and eventually terminating her from a job at the county elections board.