BERNE — Joanne Brady has lived in Berne most of her life, and emphasizes that she finds Berne has always been “like home” to her. She says she now wants to give back to her town by serving as tax collector.

Brady’s husband, Frank Brady, is running as well, for town council. Like her husband, Joanne is an enrolled Democrat running on the Republican line and the Independence line.

“This is my first time out of the gate,” she said, of running.

Brady, 60, moved to the area when she was 9, and left for some time to study liberal arts at the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill. After a year of being married, she returned to Berne with her husband.

She has been employed for 16 years in the corporate offices of Trans World Entertainment, a retailer of media and other entertainment products that is best known locally for its chainstore FYE. Brady works as an account reconciliation specialist, in which she ensures that vendor accounts are “current and clean.”

“Making sure that their invoices are paid and that returns that we send back to them get credited properly back to us; there’s also different things like rebates and price protections,” she said, adding that she often communicates through email or over the phone with vendors.

Brady previously worked for the grocery store Grand Union Family Markets for 16 years; she stayed with the store for a year after it was purchased by Hannaford Bros. Company. She worked in a variety of departments there, including as a manager of the cheese and floral sections; she last worked at the receiving dock, taking a regular inventory of incoming and outgoing products.

Brady also is the president of the board of trustees for the Berne Library.

“That is my first love; I’m very involved with the library,” she said. “But I want to do more for the town.”

She added that her background in both accounting and working with people will make her a proficient tax collector.

“I think I have the skills needed.” she said.

Brady is also a member of the Friends of the Library, in which she assists in activities and fundraisers for the library. She has helped serve food at the “snack shack” during events such as Music in the Park and Summerfest in Berne to raise funds.

She also belongs to a quilting group in Gallupville where she makes items such as hats for cancer patients or tactile quilts for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

“They can at least still feel things,” she said. “So there will be things like a button sewn on or corduroy and soft fabric … It helps to keep their minds a little bit occupied.”

Brady said that it's important for a tax collector to be accessible and willing to communicate with people.

“If I can help people understand why they’re taxed a certain way or to be able to address their questions, I feel that would be a good service to the people,” she said.

She said that she would keep hours on Saturdays and in the evenings at least twice a week, in order to be accessible to those who work regular hours. She said she would reach out to homebound people and go to their homes if needed.

She was not aware of splitting a tax bill into separate payments over time. She said she would like to research the option before making a decision, but said that the bill should be fine as it is so long as each separate entity is itemized.

She added that this may not work for people in town like herself who live in Berne but are in another school district than the one people primarily pay to, Berne-Knox-Westerlo.