Mike Foley is taking a simple stance on his retirement from public service in Colonie.
He said looking back on his decades of work, he is simply thankful for the opportunity to provide an honest living for me and my family.
He said he will stay busy, not let his mind go dull and continue to hone his cooking skills, but retirement is a welcome change.
Foley, 58, has worked in the Town of Colonie in a number of capacities since 1970. He has been personnel officer in the Civil Service Department for 28 years. He was eligible to retire three years ago, but said he felt now was the right time for him to step down.
His last day of work was Friday, Dec. 18.
Members of the Town Board thanked Foley for his years of service at the Thursday, Dec. 3, meeting. Board members wished him well and noted he was a `true professional` when it came to town business.
`We thank him for his many years of contributions to the town of Colonie,` said Supervisor Paula Mahan. `We wish him well.`
Mahan said that no decision has been made on filling the position left vacant with Foley’s retirement.
`It’s a busy time of the year,` she said. `We’re exploring all of our options.`
She said a more solid plan is likely to be formed after New Year’s Day.
Foley started his career as a custodian in the Colonie Memorial Town Hall. That building housed his office until the day he retired.
`I basically built the place,` he quipped.
As the days of Foley’s tenure began winding down, the walls on his soon-to-be-vacant office were sparse, but his recollection of events, people and his time in Colonie were plentiful.
As a member of the Youth Bureau, which was newly formed when he began full-time work in 1973, Foley looks back fondly on the opportunity to counsel families through difficult times, including those in family court, juvenile delinquents and Persons In Need of Supervision, or PINS.
In 1981, Foley began his tenure as personnel officer, overseeing hiring practices for the town.
Other than the state police, Colonie is the only Capital District police force to require college credits, Foley said. He added that he could not go as far as to take credit for Colonie’s recent rating as the safest municipality with 75,000 or more people, but he is glad he was able to implement hiring practices that attract intelligent and competent police officers.
`There’s a lot of care that goes into it. It’s a very exhaustive process,` he said.
He noted the countless number of decisions he had to make, but said he `sleeps well at night` knowing he always did what he considered the right thing.
The job was not always without challenges.
`I take a lot of pride in the thousands of decisions that apply to sometimes arcane law[s],` he said. `It can be like Gaelic. Civil service, to strangers, is a language that people do not know.`
Foley said he aimed to be `consistent, honest and low key,` as he called upon the values handed down to him by his Irish father.
He said years of the job have helped shape his perspective, and he believes living in the present is important, and not sweating the small stuff and knowing when to leave things alone are helpful philosophies.
During his time as a public servant, Foley said there were a handful of controversial issues that came up, one being his decision to reverse a demotion of employees in 2008 for a paving project at the Rod and Gun Club the year before.
He said there were `thousands` of pages of transcripts, litigation and hearings, but ultimately, Foley said, he made what he thought was the best decision. He stands by it as he leaves for retirement, and noted `no one chose to appeal it.`
Post-retirement, Foley said he has a lot of plans to nurture his interests. Notably, he said after 10 years of taking culinary classes at Schenectady County Community College and earning an associate’s degree, he wants to combine his people skills with his love of cooking.
`I don’t just want to sit around and rock,` he said.
He will not be opening a restaurant, though, as the workload is a bit much for retirement.
Whatever he does as a pastime, he said, he will be happy to spend time with his wife of 36 years, his children and his grandchildren, as his family recently welcomed twins.
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