There will be one less position on the ballot in future elections in the Town of Glenville.
The town held a special election on Monday, April 16, for voters to consider a referendum to change the receiver of taxes from an elected to an appointed position. Voters approved the switch by a nearly 3-to-1 margin, with 210 approving the change, or nearly 74 percent, and 75 voting against it, according to unofficial results. Absentee ballots weren’t accounted for as of Monday night, but town officials said there weren’t enough to affect the results.
Supervisor Christopher Koetzle smiled as results from one of the two voting machines revealed support for the referendum. Once the second machine results confirmed victory, he texted fellow board members the news.
“I’m pleased by the vote,” Koetzle said. “It is an affirmation that the people of Glenville supported the decision … people are ready for a more efficient, cheaper government and that is what we are going to deliver.”
The vote saw a minimal turnout with 285 out of the town’s 19,706 eligible voters casting a ballot, or 1.45 percent. The 2011 General Election saw voter turnout of 30 percent.
Koetzle said the turnout was more than he expected since special elections typically have a small turnout and this vote wasn’t on a normally scheduled election.
“We worked hard to get the word out, but we are very limited in our resources,” he said. “Plus we had one of the most beautiful days of the year to contend with.”
Koetzle said the town published legal notices in papers and announced the vote on the town’s website. An email was sent from the town’s email list, which residents can subscribe to from its website. He said the town relied on media coverage, too.
The proposal was introduced following the sudden retirement of Receiver of Taxes Joan Menhinick, who said budget cuts to her department had made her job impossible. The town cut about $12,000 from the receiver’s office in this year’s budget.
Gary Kilinski, a Ridge Road resident, voted in support of the referendum and said Menhinick did a “great job” in the position, but he didn’t see the need for it to be an elected office.
The town’s 2012 Strategic Plan included restructuring the receiver of taxes position through outsourcing collections to a bank and merging the Town Clerk’s Office with the receiver’s department through a part-time appointed receiver.
Keotzle and his fellow board members have touted the change as a way to reduce costs and enhance services for residents. Some of the perks of using a bank would include Saturday hours, drive-thru service, online bill payment and more locations.
This year, the town has contracted with First National Bank of Scotia for tax collection services during for the June water collection and September school tax collection at a cost of about $7,000, Koetzle said. The town will negotiate a contract with First National for next year after both sides evaluate costs.
The town has so far saved around $100,000 through reorganization of the receiver’s department and clerk’s office, which included not hiring a deputy clerk. Koetzle said next year the town should save around $30,000 by contracting with a bank for collections and making the receiver position part time.
“Once they looked at the fact that we are saving significant money, we are enhancing services, then I think it was fairly easy for them to get behind it,” Koetzle said.
Resident Patricia Renna said she voted “yes” primarily because of the potential savings.
“It doesn’t need to be a full-time job and hopefully it will save money,” Renna said.
Former Rotterdam comptroller Patrick Aragosa, a Glenville resident, was hired by the town to fill the vacancy as the town’s busiest tax collection period started in January.
“(Aragosa) is doing the same thing without having benefits, collecting a pension and being full-time,” Kilinski said. “It is just the convenience of it, too.”
Resident Dorie McArthur, who also voted in support of the referendum, said he talked to Aragosa beforehand on several questions she had about the switch.
“I received responses from him that made me feel confident this was not a change for political reasons,” McArthur said. “It appeared to me they had thought through what they were going to do and it was going to save the town money.”
Koetzle said there have been discussions to keep Aragosa on staff as the part-time receiver, but he would have to run for the position in this year’s election to fill out the remainder of the current receiver term that ends after 2013. Koetzle said the elected position couldn’t be abolished mid-term.
“I’d support him if he is interested,” Koetzle said. “It is a one-year term now and we have to see who is interested in running.”
Regardless of who gets elected to the position, he said the board is going to budget position as part time next year and continue contracting with a bank.
“We can still achieve the savings, but that person is going to be elected for one year until the term expires,” Koetzle said.
There could be some hiccups, because an elected official can’t be forced into cross training and other duties outside their scope of work.
“Having an elected person does not give the board the management imperative it needs to make changes to the Town Hall staff,” Koetzle said. “We have a hard time working with elected officials on trying to change staffing models. This also professionalizes the position so we can get the most qualified person.”