BY ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

POTSDAM — The town board has approved allowing the supervisor to hire a confidential secretary at an annual salary of $49,500 plus benefits.

The board approved the new position after meeting in executive session at their Jan. 11 regular meeting.

Under state municipal law, towns of the same size as Potsdam (designated towns of second class) can authorize the supervisor to designate a confidential secretary. The new position was effective immediately following the town board approval.

The practice of hiring a confidential secretary or assistant to town supervisors is fairly common among towns in New York State. Confidential secretaries are often hired to handle sensitive personnel information during labor negotiations or private medical information.

“According to the law, as I have read it, a confidential secretary would be involved in many tasks and not just those that are secret but also those that involve trust and integrity,” Town Supervisor Ann Carvill told North Country This Week. “As town supervisor, the Board members and I are often dealing with matters that involve the need for confidentiality. Breaches of confidentiality can result in liability for the town and, thus, the taxpayers.”

Carvill said that tasks a new confidential secretary would be expected to perform include:

• Handling personnel matters (Human Resources) like keeping personnel folders updated;

• During negotiations, creating spreadsheets on salaries, health insurance, retirement so the town's negotiations team can work effectively with union negotiators in coming to an understanding about a collective bargaining agreement that is fair to both taxpayers and union members;

• Creating checks and payroll reports;

• Tasks during annual development process like providing reports, checking for mathematical accuracy, creating spreadsheets, etc.;

• Records management tasks;

• Be knowledgeable about the NYS Retirement System (NYSLRS);

• Paying bills and reconciling accounts;

• Updating files;

• Preparing reports requested by the supervisor or by the board.

The board did not authorize the hiring of any specific person after approving the position.

The town is currently advertising for the position on its website at https://potsdamny.us/ .

Qualified candidates for the job will have experience with computers, Quickbooks, payroll, invoicing, municipal budgets, and state and federal tax forms.

Interested parties can send a letter of interest and resume to Potsdam Town Supervisor Ann Carvill at 18 Elm St., Potsdam 13676 by Jan. 28.