— Holly Grosch

NEW SCOTLAND — This fall, at the election booth, there will no longer be a column for tax collector.

The town board unanimously passed a resolution last month to eliminate the elected position at the end of the year. The tax collector’s duties will be performed by the town clerk’s office beginning in January.

Reasons council members gave for wanting to eliminate the position are to save on the cost of salary and health benefits, to provide better year-round service to residents, and to reduce the size of government.

The town clerk, an elected official, and deputy town clerk, a hired employee will answer resident’s tax questions throughout the year. During the tax season in January, February, and March, the board will hire one additional staff member.

Councilmen Scott Houghtaling said that he saw it as good opportunity to reduce government and eliminate a department.
Supervisor Ed Clark agreed, saying, "I’m an advocate of smaller government."
He went on to say that a number of people working in town hall are elected officials, and, with an array of people trying to work together who have previously run against each other, "The fewer elected positions we have, the better off we’ll be."

This year, the long-time tax collector, Marilyn Holmberg, received a salary of $15,347.85.

Houghtaling said that he thinks most the savings will be from benefits.

Holmberg has been the tax collector for 16 years, she told The Enterprise. She would not be able to continue as tax collector be cause of heath reasons, she said.

This year’s deputy tax collector, Arlene Herzog, and Holmberg’s daughter, Judy Fritz, filled most of the tax-collector duties this past winter while Holmberg was ill.

Herzog planned to run for tax collector if the board had not eliminated the post.

Lance Luther, who chairs New Scotland’s Republican committee, told The Enterprise that the GOP would have backed Herzog.

Board members have expressed interest in hiring Herzog as the part-time specialist to help out during the busy tax season because of her expertise.

Herzog told The Enterprise that she enjoyed doing that job, and that she has been the deputy tax collector for four years.

Now that the tax collector’s information has been computerized, Herzog believes that fewer hours will be needed for the position. But she said she isn’t sure eliminating an elected position is the best way to go. She added that she really wasn’t thrilled about running a door-to-door campaign, though, and that she didn’t need health insurance because she uses her husband’s plan, and that, since she is already 62, she doesn’t need retirement benefits.
"I enjoy doing the computer work; it’s a nice thing to do in the winter," Herzog said.

Council member Andrea Gleason said she was willing to give this new system a try for one year, adding that the real test will play out at budget time, to see the actual savings.

In order to reinstate the elected position of tax collector, the New Scotland Town Board would have to pass a town law.