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Eighteen Southampton Town employees, including three longtime workers boasting a combined century of experience, will no longer be found regularly roaming Town Hall in the new year.
Southampton Town Management Services Administrator Richard Blowes, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Allyn F. Jackson and Sole Assessor Edward Deyermond all decided late last year to take advantage of an early retirement incentive offered by New York State.
Mr. Blowes is being replaced by Russell Kratoville, an Aquebogue resident who was appointed by the Town Board in November, while Chris Bean of Westhampton, the assistant superintendent of parks, will assume the bulk of responsibilities formerly held by Mr. Jackson, who will return to the department on a part-time basis in 2011. It is still unclear who will lead the assessor’s office, said Town Comptroller Tamara Wright, who noted that Mr. Deyermond could return in a part-time role.
The moves, which took effect on December 31, are projected to save the town about $1.9 million in 2011, though that figure does not include some $918,000 in one-time payouts, medical expenses and retirement system contributions that were made to the 18 employees, according to Ms. Wright. Also, the projected savings does not include $450,000 in new salaries that will be needed to pay seven new town employees.
Overall, the early retirement incentive is projected to save the town about $532,000 in 2011—a figure that is expected to climb to about $1.5 million in 2012, Ms. Wright said. That figure, however, could change if the Town Board ultimately decides to hire employees to fill any of the 11 other vacant positions, she said.
In separate interviews conducted late last month, Mr. Blowes, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Deyermond talked about some of their accomplishments and future plans. And Mr. Blowes and Mr. Jackson, both of whom will continue working for the town on a part-time basis, discussed their new roles at Town Hall.
Boasting the most experienceof the three retirees—35 years total—Mr. Jackson seemed to be the ideal candidate to serve as parks superintendent.
The 57-year-old East Quogue resident, who said he has never lived outside his home hamlet except for the four years he attended college in Ohio and Virginia, started his career at Town Hall when he landed a paid internship with the town’s Parks and Recreation Department in 1974. He graduated from Bowling Green State University in Ohio in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in parks and recreation administration and management, an education that fit his future career nicely.
“It wasn’t really a calling at the time,” Mr. Jackson said when explaining his choice of study. “It seemed interesting.”
That internship eventually led to a full-time position as recreation leader—Mr. Jackson joked that in 1975 he was he only employee of the department—and in 1980 he was promoted to superintendent of the department.
During his tenure, he said he helped transform parks and recreation. When he started, the department offered a summer swimming program hosted by the American Red Cross and its own sailing program. Today, it boasts some 500 recreational programs, according to Mr. Bean, including an oyster farming program in Tiana Bay that kicked off last year. An estimated 5,000 to 6,000 residents sign up each year to participate in the town’s recreation programs, according to Mr. Jackson.
“Looking back at it now, it was almost like hitting the lottery back then and I didn’t know,” he said about his internship. “It’s been a great job.”
Mr. Jackson, who earned $107,100 last year, said he will stay on in his department but on a limited basis in the new year, as his income is capped at $30,000 for 2011. He said his primary duty will be to assist the new superintendent, Mr. Bean, with coordinating some ongoing projects, such as the clean up of property on Damascus Road in East Quogue to make room for a new park, and the installation of a water main in Noyac. Mr. Bean’s starting salary is $85,000.
In addition to his part-time job, Mr. Jackson said he plans to step up his other community duties, including his work as the commissioner of the East Quogue Fire District and East Quogue Cemetery Association. He and his wife, Debbie, have two daughters, Elizabeth and Allyson.
Mr. Blowes, who also lives in East Quogue, has spent almost his entire life in Southampton Town. Though he just retired as management services administrator, Mr. Blowes has been tapped to head the Southampton Housing Authority, serving as the office’s executive director on a part-time basis. His new role—which comes with an annual salary that’s capped at $30,000—will have him focusing on creating an affordable housing plan for the town.
He most recently earned $117,300 a year in his old position, in which he had served since 1977. His old office, the Department of General Services/Business Management, oversees the operation of several town offices, including the Human Resources and Workplace Policy and Compliance divisions. It also oversees projects that rely on grants to ensure that the work complies with specific guidelines. Another role of general services is to ensure that other town departments are running smoothly, according to Mr. Blowes. Those responsibilities now fall to his replacement, Russell Kratoville, who is scheduled to make $107,100 this year—a figure that jumps to $149,457 with benefits.
Mr. Blowes, 61, who has been at Town Hall for 33 years, began his career as tax receiver. He said that, during his tenure, he helped automate the tax receiver’s office with technological and computer upgrades. His work there eventually led him to become the head of the town’s Information Technology Department while also serving as tax receiver.
Mr. Blowes’s old office, the Department of General Services/Business Management, was scheduled to be dismantled under Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst’s preliminary budget—a move that was blocked by the Town Board. Mr. Blowes said he was pleased that the board decided to keep his old department, explaining that the office assists other departments when they need a hand, and ensures consistency in town management even when administrations change.
“It’s critical if you want to have a department that can continue to work and organize the process going on in between the electorate officials terms,” he said.
In recent years, Mr. Blowes said his personal health has posed a new set of challenges. Last year, he had two surgeries to replace a heart valve. Prior to being hospitalized, he said he had been working 10 hours a day, seven days a week. “I ran myself into the ground,” he said.
Looking forward to his new role, Mr. Blowes said he is excited to work with the community to come up with an affordable housing plan. He said he intends to draft a business plan that will outline potential funding sources to help the town build affordable housing, identify where the most need for such housing lies, and how that need can be met while working with the goals of individual communities.
Mr. Blowes and his wife, Margaret, have three sons, Daryl, Devin and Dustin.
A Sag Harbor resident living on the East Hampton Town side of the village, Mr. Deyermond, 58, has worn many hats in government. He has served as the mayor of Sag Harbor Village and clerk in the Village of North Haven. He also held the position of town assessor in East Hampton.
Additionally, he has served as the sole assessor of Southampton Town on two different occasions. His first stint began in May 1990 and ended in April 2001; his second tenure, which ended just last month, began in August 2006. He earned $112,506 last year.
He said his proudest achievement while working for Southampton Town occurred in 1990, when he managed a townwide property reassessment, which he said received “high marks” from both the town and its residents. It was a project that came in under budget and completed ahead of schedule, he said. Mr. Deyermond was asked to return to his old position following the 2006 reassessment, which was heavily criticized by taxpayers for its inconsistencies.
The duties that come with being the town’s sole tax assessor can be both emotionally and physically draining at times, Mr. Deyermond said, factors that played a role in his decision to retire. He explained that the stories he often hears from residents about the downtrodden economy and how it makes it hard for them to pay their taxes have made the job especially tough.
“I just think that this is a very difficult job to do and it takes a special person,” he said.
Mr. Deyermond boasts more than 32 years of government experience, spending half of that time in Southampton Town. He said that while there has been some discussion about perhaps bringing him back to assist the town assessor’s office in some part-time capacity, those plans are still up the air. Regardless of whether or not that pans out, Mr. Deyermond said he does not see himself sitting still for long, explaining that he’s keeping his eyes peeled for the next challenge—even if it comes in the private sector.
Mr. Deyermond and his wife, Bethany, have two children, Phil and Kate, and three grandchildren.
Rohma Abbas on Jan 4, 2011