Town Attorney Orry Korb said staff members would answer her phone to find they were apparent collect call requests, which the staff would not accept.

"The collect calls had been coming in for a long period of time for her on a fairly regular basis, and the staff was aware of them," Korb said. "The fact those calls had been coming in was brought to the attention of the town manager's office, and that's what initiated the investigation of those past collect calls."

At the June 6 meeting of the Los Gatos Town Council, Korb accused Cosgrove of accumulating between $700 and $800 in collect calls. He claimed Cosgrove had stolen valuable office supplies—including a town seal and embossers—and had not been performing any of her duties since the beginning of the year.

Cosgrove said she's willing to pay the three years of charges and knew she was receiving the calls, but never received an itemized bill for them.

"I received the calls," she said. "I didn't try to cover that up."

Korb said employees who use company phones for personal business are responsible for making their own payments. There's insufficient town staffing to go through all the phone records and determine which calls are related to work and which ones are personal.

"It comes down to a matter of personal responsibility," he said.

Cosgrove, who has held her position for 17 years, also admits she has the town's office supplies.

"I'm the keeper of the seal," she said. "It's not a laughing matter. I'm the custodian of the legislative record."

Korb said Cosgrove has not responded to the town's requests for the property to be returned to the Civic Center. Cosgrove was re-elected to office in November 2004, but previously held the appointed and elected town clerk duties before the election. The council separated those roles in 2001 after Cosgrove had announced her plans to retire at the end of her term. The full-time appointed clerk, who reports to Town Manager Debra Figone, is now MarLyn Rasmussen.

When Cosgrove learned the council wanted to separate her duties, she sought re-election. She said town managers are constantly trying to usurp the elected clerk position and make it a ceremonial position, but the voters always want it to continue.

Cosgrove claims she can't retire from her position, even though she'd receive $2,200 a month from the California Public Employees' Retirement System. Cosgrove was previously making $56,000 a year as the full-time elected and appointed clerk. She's now receiving a $150 a month stipend, just as council members do.

Cosgrove claims the town illegally took her duties away from her, but Figone said they've only taken away her appointed duties not her statutory ones. Korb also said Cosgrove has been asked repeatedly to execute ordinances approved by the council, but they remain unsigned. Cosgrove also refused to use the workspace provided for her, Korb said, even after the town offered to make it ergonomically correct.

"She has not responded to our offer," Korb said.

Korb said Cosgrove has access to all public records and they will be made available to her if she requests them.