BERNE—In Berne, several incumbents are seeking reelection in unopposed races.

They are: highway Superintendent Raymond Storm, town Justice Kenneth Bunzey, town Clerk Patricia Favreau, Assessor Robert Motschmann, and Receiver of Taxes Gerald O’Malley. All are Democrats.

HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT
Raymond Storm

After eight years as highway superintendent, Raymond Storm is running unopposed for the first time.
"It’s a nice feeling," he said.

Storm said his experience makes him the best person to be highway superintendent.
"I can help the residents in the town of Berne," Storm said. "I’ve been doing it for eight years. I just do the best I can."

Storm, 50, has lived in Berne for 22 years. He was elected in 1997 after the long-time superintendent, Robert Schultes, retired. The highway superintendent earns an annual salary of $42,750.

Storm’s wife, Karen, is a member of the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School Board.

Along with the rest of the world, the Berne highway department is becoming more and more computerized. Storm said he just oversaw the installation of an automated fuel system and fleet-management software.

As superintendent, Storm is responsible for researching and recommending new equipment to be purchased by the town board. He works hard to get the best price, either through bids or state contract, he said.
"I try to work closely with the board and the supervisor," Storm said.

Storm also tries to work closely with other town highway departments, sharing equipment to save money, he said.

As the manager of most of the town’s employees, Storm tries to be fair.
"I try to treat them the same way I would like to be treated," he said.

TOWN JUSTICE
Kenneth Bunzey

Kenneth Bunzey has been a town justice for 12 years and he thinks he’s still the right man for the job.
"I still feel that I have something to offer the community. I’m trying to still give back to the community what they’ve given to me," Bunzey said.

Bunzey, 52, has lived in Berne his whole life. He works as a teacher’s assistant at Berne-Knox-Westerlo and as the varsity track coach and modified cross-country coach. He holds an associate’s degree from the State University of New York College at Delhi.
Bunzey said his message in life is, "I’m for children." Working at the school, he said, "You try to help the kids and steer them down the correct road so you don’t see them in Justice Court later on."

Being a judge in a small town is a lot different than in a larger town or city, Bunzey said; you know most of the defendants, he said.
"The hardest part of being a judge is passing down the same decisions for people you like and people you don’t like," Bunzey said.

Bunzey said he and the other town justice try to trade cases when the defendant has too close of a relationship with the judge, but that’s not always possible.
"You just try to treat everybody the same," Bunzey said. "We really do things by the book here in Berne Justice Court."

Bunzey is a graduate of the Advanced Justice Education Program and takes judicial update courses every year.
"It’s important to know the law and you have to stay up on the law," he said.

He earns $7,125 annually in the part-time post.

TOWN CLERK
Patricia Favreau

Town clerk for 26 years, Patricia Favreau has worked for four different supervisors.
"I have not had a problem with any of them," she said. Even in turbulent years, like this past one, she’s been able to put a non-partisan face on the town, she said.

Though unopposed, she’s running for office yet again.
"I’m dedicated. I’m committed to public service," Favreau said. "I’ve demonstrated that I can keep abreast of change."
Favreau has been in office since 1980. When she started, she said, "People used to think of the town clerk just as a license-issuing service."

Favreau does much more than that, like serving as registrar, deputy tax collector, notary, passport acceptor, and editor of the town newsletter, she said.
"Historically, the town clerk serves as the direct link to the town government," she said. "I enjoy being that link."

Favreau has lived in Berne since 1943 and is a graduate of Berne-Knox High School. She is both a certified municipal clerk and a registered municipal clerk. She is a member of national and international municipal clerk’s associations, and, in April, she became the president of the New York State Town Clerks’ Association, which represents 880 of New York’s 932 towns.
Because she’s involved with these organizations, Favreau can keep up on the issues that are being faced in every town in the state. For example, she said, "Right now, we’re all concerned about the Help America Vote Act. It’s not solved as of yet."

A widow, Favreau said she enjoys the challenges of being town clerk and the chance to interact with the wide range of people in Berne.
"I need to have a job, and I have a nice one," she said.

The town clerk is paid $32,000 annually.

ASSESSOR
Robert Motschmann
"I enjoy doing this job. I feel we’ve done a good job so far and we can continue on," said Robert Motschmann, a Democrat running for re-election as an assessor in Berne.

Berne has three part-time assessors who are paid $6,750 each.

Motschmann has been in office for eight years, two four-year terms. A Berne resident since 1970, Motschmann works as a salesman for Hannay Reels in Westerlo. He has one year of college and a high school education.

Motschmann said, to help with his post, he tries to keep up on building projects in the area and the costs involved. He’s planning a building project himself, he said.

One of the hardest parts of his job, he said, is explaining the technicalities of assessment to residents. The three assessors try to help people find exemptions, he said.
"We kind of pride ourselves in helping the seniors in the town," Motschmann said.

Motschmann said he has had the necessary training to be an assessor.
"They have a list of courses you have to take," he said. "You keep pretty busy with that."

RECEIVER OF TAXES
Gerald O’Malley

Gerald O’Malley is another long-time elected official in the town of Berne. After 14 years, he’s running again for receiver of taxes.
"I enjoy it. I keep in touch with the people," O’Malley said. "I get to know my neighbors."

A retired Key Bank computer analyst, O’Malley feels his professional background, both in finance and computing, makes him right for the job. He prides himself on his availability.
"A lot of the time, people can just come to my house and drop off their payments," O’Malley said.

A resident of Berne since 1946, O’Malley, 64, graduated from Berne-Knox High School and attended The College of Saint Rose. At Key Bank, he started working with computers just as the company started using computers.
"They weren’t actually computers when I started," O’Malley said, "just adding machines."

So, he has no problem keeping the town’s tax records on a computer file.
"I’ve got 12 years of stuff now," he said. "It’s a pretty good-sized file."

O’Malley explained his job as receiver of taxes. He sends out bills to taxpayers, and then collects their payment. If taxpayers don’t pay their bills, O’Malley said, it’s not his job to make them. At the end of the tax period, he sends his records to Albany County, which is responsible for tracking down delinquent payments.
Though paying taxes isn’t anyone’s favorite thing to do, O’Malley said, "I try to make it as pleasant as possible."

The tax collector is paid $5,900 annually.