Clifton Park supervisor to take over $90K position

PHOTOGRAPHER: Lee Coleman

Town Supervisor Philip Barrett said Monday he will accept the combined position of full-time town supervisor and town administrator in 2012, a move that will bring him a $90,000 annual salary.

Barrett said it is a “tough decision both professionally and personally” for him to leave his executive position at KeyBank and devote his full-time efforts to the town of Clifton Park.

“I have incredible passion for this town, for this job,” Barrett said at Monday night’s Town Board meeting. The combined position was part of the 2012 town budget that was approved by the board.

Barrett said combining the two jobs — town administrator and town supervisor — will save town taxpayers $32,000 in the process. Longtime Town Administrator Michael Shahen retired in March. He was paid $103,000 a year as town administrator.

Barrett is paid $22,000 as a part-time town supervisor this year. This pay will be eliminated and Barrett will be paid $90,000 as supervisor-administrator in 2012.

Barrett’s fellow Town Board members said during a recent public hearing on the preliminary 2012 town budget that they supported the new position.

“It’s a career change,” Barrett said about the new position. He said his family supports his decision. He said he really likes his job at KeyBank, which he described as a “first-class organization,” but he will make the change.

He told his family that he will “bring home less money” in his new position but they accept this fact.

“I have decided to take on the job of supervisor full time,” he said. In the position Barrett will be involved in the day-to-day financial and managerial operations of the town.

He said he is determined to keep Clifton Park, the largest town in Saratoga County, fiscally sound.

The Town Board approved the 2012 town budget, which includes a $15.2 million general fund and a $4.8 million highway fund. The general fund is $33,000 less than this year’s general fund and once again includes no town tax.

The highway fund tax will increase 2 percent from this year’s .185 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation to .189 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. This will represent an increase of less than $1 per year for the owner of an average home in town, according to the town’s budget statement.

The only change from the preliminary budget to the final budget was increasing funding for Care Links, a program that provides transportation and other amenities to senior citizens, from $5,000 to $11,500.

Town officials said the 2012 budget does not include any cuts to programs or services to Clifton Park’s 37,000 residents. However, one position that is currently filled in the town Planning Department has been eliminated next year. The town has reduced its workforce over the last few years through attrition.