Up Close and Personal in the Field: Kathy L. Seaver

UP CLOSE &

PERSONAL In the Field

Kathy L. Seaver

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Welcome to Up Close and Personal – In the Field, a regular column in New Hampshire Town and City dedicated to giving readers a closer look at staff from New Hampshire municipalities and other political subdivisions. In this issue, we hope you enjoy meeting Kathy L. Seaver, former Town Clerk-Tax Collector with the Town of Farmington.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Kathy retired after 45 years with Farmington on April 6, 2020. Kathy was the “go-to” person for many town clerks and tax collectors throughout New Hampshire. We certainly hope you are enjoying your retirement, Kathy!

TC: What were your duties and responsibilities as Town Clerk-Tax Collector?

KS: As Town Clerk-Tax Collector, I was responsible for collecting property taxes, water & sewer rents, motor vehicle registrations, vital records and various election duties for municipal and state elections as well as revenue collection from all other departments. I supervised three employees and was responsible for their training and retention. I started in 1974 and retired in April of 2020. Since retiring, I have continued to work as a fill-in person both in my town of Farmington and in my neighboring town of Milton.

TC: What is your biggest challenge in performing your duties?

KS: The biggest challenge was staying on top of the myriad of statute changes that we are presented with year after year.

TC: How has NHMA helped you to do your job?

KS: I had developed a working relationship with Barbara Reid when she was at the Department of Revenue Administration. (NHDRA). When she began working for NHMA, I would call her when I had a “sticky” situation presented to me. She would always have an answer or find one for me. She also called me when she needed a better understanding of the inner workings of a Town Clerk-Tax Collector’s office.

TC: Give us an example of a problem you solved or a dilemma you faced and overcame in the line of duty?

KS: Problem solving is a part of the daily life of a Town Clerk-Tax Collector. You need to have a crystal ball AND be a detective almost every day. But when COVID hit right before my retirement date, I helped the office develop a system whereby people could still come to the office and communicate through a 2-way lock box so that all services went along as smoothly as possible and people who were uncomfortable with mail-in and on-line transactions could proceed as normally as possible.

TC: What is the public perception about your job and how does it differ from the reality of your job?

KS: I believe that the public perception of my job is that we do little and I have been told on occasion that we do not pay property taxes! The reality is that there are so many and varied responsibilities that it is often difficult to stay on top of everything especially in a busy year like 2020 with 4 elections and a pandemic and we definitely DO pay property taxes based on the same valuation system and tax rate as everyone else.

TC: Tell us a story about an unusual experience you have had while doing your job.

KS: During the November Presidential election pre-processing of absentee ballots, I was helping out in the office when a call came in from a customer who had literally just received their positive COVID19 test results. My successor was tied up with pre-processing and gave me the nod to handle the situation. Between myself, The Secretary of State’s office, the Town Administrator and the Fire/EMS Department, we came up with a plan that stayed within the state statutes and was safe for everyone involved so that he and his wife (who had been diagnosed several days earlier) could cast their absentee ballots.