Kindel pushes idea of town manager
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

The future plans for the Town of Amherst should be the main goal of the supervisor - not paying bills, Council Member Bill Kindel said about creating the position of town manager.

He said the purpose of a town manager would be to handle the day-to-day business of the town, including accounting, paying bills and handling contracts.

"Any business would have these duties given to a professional," he said.

Kindel said there are misunderstandings regarding the proposal. He said it does not take any authority away from the supervisor but actually creates more time for that position.

"The supervisor could do more overall viewing of the bigger picture," he said. "Instead, he is focusing a lot of attention on fundamental things, such as balancing the books."

He added that a business manager would free up the supervisor's time for more creative thinking on lowering taxes and retaining services.

"This is an attempt to build a professional foundation. The supervisor would continue to lead the town," he said.

Initially Kindel had sponsored a resolution on Feb. 5 requesting that Town Attorney Tom Jones draft a local law that would create the position, but during the meeting he withdrew the resolution. The proposal was sent to the Government Study Committee for review.

Calls to the Government Study Committee Chairman Marshal Wood were not returned.

Kindel said he would be in favor of the town's residents deciding the issue.

"If we had six months to debate the issue publicly, I would trust the voters to make the decision," he said of a November referendum. "This is not political at all. It takes the politics out of the function. It's paying bills just like you pay your own bills."

Although the Town Board did not vote on the proposal, a discussion took place on the idea of a town manager.

Council Member William A. O'Loughlin Jr. said he was opposed to the position because he believed anyone in that job wouldn't give the same effort as an elected supervisor.

"Once you institute a salary position it breeds a 9 to 5 position. Dr. Mohan doesn't know what 9 to 5 means," he said of the hours worked by the supervisor.

He added that elected officials work under pressure, and a town manager would not answer to the board.

"Pressure is what makes them do a good job. I would rather have the job remain that kind of pressure," O'Loughlin said.

Council Member Deborah Bruch Bucki said her concerns about the position were that it would increase the size of government, possibly adding more support staff.

She also had concerns about the job being non-elected.

Several board members said they would want to hear what the Government Study Committee thought - which was instructed to report back in 90 days.

"This is the wave of the future .... a town manager would have tremendous skills," Kindel said. "Very few come to the job with the actual experience of skills necessary. We have had lawyers, a helicopter reporter, a housewife and a town clerk (be elected)."

He added that although many people can do the job of supervisor, they don't have the professional business training to handle parts of the position.

Supervisor Satish Mohan did not return a call from The Amherst Bee requesting comment on the issue.