JOHNSTOWN – City leaders have approved appointments to key city positions, naming a former Fulton County official to its assessor’s post and reappointing a City Court judge for the second time this month.
The Common Council on Tuesday unanimously approved hiring Frank Parker of Mayfield to be the city assessor. Parker was the director of the county’s Real Property Tax Services Agency, which produces and maintains local tax maps and records, before retiring two years ago.
“Mr. Parker has a great deal of expertise and experience in the field of assessing, and I think he will serve us well,” said Mayor Sarah Slingerland.
Parker will replace Daniel Maxwell of Newport, in Herkimer County, who became acting assessor after the resignation of longtime assessor Leamon Steele in 2011. Parker’s term will begin Monday and end Sept. 30.
Parker will earn $26.50 per hour while working a 20-hour work week, with no other benefits or compensation. His hourly rate is $3.50 less than what Maxwell earned, and his maximum salary of $27,560 is less than the $36,979 Steele earned in 2010, his last full year of service.
The council on Tuesday also reappointed longtime acting City Court Judge Frederick R. Stortecky to his post, but removed “acting” from his title.
Stortecky, who also has a law practice on South Market Street, initially was reappointed to a six-year term as acting City Court judge on Jan. 7, but the city later learned the state had renamed the position City Court judge. His new appointment is retroactive to Jan. 1.
Stortecky will be paid $27,200 a year for the part-time position. The city employs a second part-time City Court judge, Thomas Walsh, who is elected and carries a heavier caseload. The state pays both of their salaries, which are set by state judiciary law.
