ROTTERDAM-The town of Rotterdam has hired a former Guilderland comptroller to oversee its budget and finance department.
The town approved hiring Marcus Montgomery at its Wednesday night meeting. Montgomery had served as Guilderland’s fiscal officer for almost two years from February 2019 to March 2021, according to his LinkedIn page.
Montgomery said he resigned from that position due to the hostile work environment in town, according to his application.
He has a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Union College.
Montgomery’s salary would be $77,000, according to the town resolution hiring him.
Supervisor Mollie Collins said the town received 16 applications.
“We had very good candidates,” she said.
What interested town officials about Montgomery was his experience with Tyler Technologies “MUNIS” payroll and accounting software.
“That was one of the key factors to choosing or whittling down the list of applicants,” Collins said.
The interviews were also opened up to all board members, who scheduled times to meet with candidates, Collins said.
Staff in the comptroller’s office also got to talk to the candidates, said Deputy Supervisor Jack Dodson.
As town comptroller Montgomery would oversee areas of operations in the finance department including accounting and budgeting records, financial statements and payroll and employee benefits.
The town had hired former Niskayuna comptroller Paul Sebesta on a short-term basis while it searched for a new comptroller. Sebesta will continue working for the town at $100 an hour until Montgomery is brought up to speed, Collins said.
“I think it would be a smoother transition for Mr. Montgomery,” she said.
Sebesta is also still working on various special finance projects for the town, Dodson said.
Those projects include looking into cross-training other departments on how to use MUNIS, so they can see where their budgets are rather than waiting for monthly reports.
Reporter Shenandoah Briere can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at SB_DailyGazette.
Categories: News, Rotterdam
