Left to right are Mayor Ben Blake, Francis Haigh, Margaret (Peggy) Salerno, Margaret (Peggy) Barrett, Linda Catino, Tax Collector Sue Taft, Human Resources Director Tania Barnes and Finance Director Peter Erodici.
Staff in the city tax collector’s office have been named Milford’s employees of the month for September.
The honorees are Margaret (Peggy) Salerno, Linda Catino and Francis Haigh, as well as retired employees Judy Haley and Margaret (Peggy) Barrett.
After a review of all of the nominations the selection committee unanimously selected this team from the tax collector’s office as the winners for their dedicated service and outstanding customer service during a very critical time in their department, city officials said in a prepared release.
“Each year the tax collector’s office processes payments necessary to collect nearly 100% of taxes due,” the press release states. “The staff of the tax collector’s office is responsible for the collection of municipal revenues.”
Staff duties include collecting tax payments in person and through the mail; posting payments to the appropriate accounts; satisfying inquiries of taxpayers and other interested parties relating to tax matters; computing delinquent charges and interest; and processing a large volume of beach stickers and building clearances.
During the months of January and July, in addition to their normal daily tasks, the office staff is especially inundated with telephone calls and residents paying their taxes in person.
“This can be an extremely daunting time,” city officials said. “July 2015 was especially difficult since the department was down three key positions — tax collector, deputy tax collector and a clerk.
“Despite being significantly understaffed, Francis, Peggy S., Peggy B., Linda and Judy efficiently managed to work through this challenging period,” city officials said. “These employees selflessly came together as a team and worked through the huge volumes of mail, phone calls and lines of residents coming to pay their taxes in person.”
The staff demonstrated a high level of professionalism, generosity, and positive attitude under the most difficult circumstances, the press release states.
“A special recognition goes to the two retired employees who provided their services, knowledge and expertise to support this team,” officials said. “Peggy Salerno, Linda Catino and Francis Haigh, along with the generous assistance of the office’s retired employees, Judy Haley and Peggy Barrett, worked tirelessly with professionalism and outstanding customer service to ensure the job got done.”
The post Tax office staff honored for hard work appeared first on Milford Mirror.