SARATOGA SPRINGS — A Public Works Department employee stole at least $20,000 from city coffers over the last year and a half, police said today.

Joy Karam, 43, of Sandspring Drive, was charged this morning after police were tipped off over the summer about accounting discrepancies, they said. Police said Karam took money that customers paid for plastic trash bags at the city transfer station on Weibel Avenue.

Karam was charged with third-degree grand larceny and first-degree falsifying business records, both felonies.

Police continue to investigate and audit city records to see if more money is missing. So far, they have no evidence that anyone other than Karam was involved, they said at a news conference this afternoon.

The senior clerk has been suspended from her job in City Hall.