Schenectady’s former city budget analyst, who was fired after speaking out against the city’s sales tax agreement with the county, has a new set of municipal finances to handle.
The Glenville Town Board on Wednesday, Jan. 3, appointed Jason Cuthbert to town comptroller for a one-year term at a salary of $60,000. The appointment was a resolution added to the agenda at the end of its organizational meeting. Cuthbert replaces George Phillips, whom the board decided to not reappoint, but little explanation was given for the switch.
“The board decided to not reappoint George,” Supervisor Christopher Koetzle said after the meeting. “The board decided to make a change in the position and Jason was the chosen candidate.
Phillips’ last day of employment was on Friday, Dec. 28, according to Koetzle.
Several attempts to reach Phillips for comment were unsuccessful. Koetzle declined to offer details on the board’s decision to make the change, offering only that it was a personnel issue.
“The board just felt it was time to make a change in the position,” Koetzle.
Town Attorney Michael Cuevas said Phillips was only the “acting comptroller” and was never appointed him for the full, two-year term. Koetzle said the town previously held an open search for the position, but failed to find a suitable candidate, so Phillips was appointed.
“The search didn’t stay open and it didn’t essentially end, either,” Koetzle said. “These are things that George has always been aware of … being an acting comptroller kind County for more than three years before joining the city. He worked in Saratoga County for five years before that. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University at Albany.
There won’t be much time for Cuthbert to settle in, as Koetzle’s prepares his State of the Town address for Wednesday, Jan. 16, and budget talks for next year are already starting.
“We of course are going to get him up to speed and then we are going to have some projects for him as we go along,” Koetzle said.’’
Tax collection outsourcing dropped
Earlier in the organizational meeting, the board approved hiring temporary employees to assist the receiver of taxes for the year. Town officials decided to forgo entering into another tax collection agreement with First National Bank of Scotia.
Koetzle said the bank’s proposed fee for collection services ranged from $10,000 to $12,000, which exceeded what the town budgeted. Last year, the town restructured the receiver of taxes position by outsourcing collections to a bank and merging the town clerk’s office with the receiver’s department through a part-time appointed receiver.
Patrick Aragosa, after being appointed, ran uncontested to fill the remaining year of the receiver term this year.
Aragosa implemented a new procedure for collecting taxes by placing a bar code on tax bills, which allow them to be scanned in. Previously, employees had to type all of the information into the system, according to Koetzle.
“We found a more efficient way of collecting taxes … that has cut our expense tremendously,” Koetzle said. “It is harder to find savings outside now than what we actually achieve inside.”
Residents are asked to pay taxes by mail, in-person at the Glenville Municipal Center, or by using a secure web portal on the town’s website, www.townofglenville.org.
The town held a special election in April on a referendum to change the receiver of taxes from an elected to an appointed position, and voters approved the change by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. The proposal was introduced following the sudden retirement of Receiver of Taxes Joan Menhinick.
Last 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 there are no plans to make the position elected again.
