BERNE —  Gerald O’Malley is seeking four more years as the town’s tax collector, now in his 22nd consecutive year in the post.

“When I first took it, it was a ledger book,” O’Malley said of the position where he now uses Business Automation Services software. He said Berne was one of the first towns to use the software when he began its transition to computers as a result of his background in programming for KeyBank.

O’Malley, 72, is retired from Key Services as a senior bank analyst for its internal audit and control division. A Democrat, he has Independent, Conservative, and his party’s endorsement.

O’Malley, chairman of the town’s Democratic committee and one of its East Berne committee members, was a town board member for 12 years. He is currently a Helderberg Ambulance board member, and president and a past chief of the East Berne Volunteer Fire Company.

O’Malley said he was a few credits short of getting his degree from The College of Saint Rose. He has lived in Berne on and off since he was 6 years old.

As first vice president of the New York State Association of Tax Receivers, O’Malley will get his turn as its president next year.

 “I enjoy doing it,” O’Malley said of his desire to continue. “Personal contact with everybody, and get to know everybody in the town.”

The job of tax collector involves sending out tax bills, determined by the levy and the assessments in a given year, and depositing the money received. The bills are printed in Kingston.

“It’s a $2 million-dollar checking account that you have to prove,” said O’Malley. “It’s not an easy thing to do.”

Working from home, O’Malley said, he keeps most of the documents he needs there, with more than 10 years of records stored in a vault.