SALAMANCA — Kathi Sarver, who for nearly a decade had worked as the city of Salamanca’s comptroller, has resigned.
The Common Council in a special session Wednesday unanimously voted to appoint Bob Earley as acting comptroller, effective immediately.
“It’s temporary for now,” said Mayor Sandra Magiera. “We had to make a decision because of payrolls and checking, and we had to put someone in place for that, and he’s willing to take that on right now.”
Magiera said Sarver’s resignation was unexpected but declined to go into further detail.
“The comptroller decided to resign and she’s retiring,” the mayor said. “I can’t really talk about it.”
Sarver was hired in April 2013 to replace provisional city comptroller Matthew Bull, who had held the position since longtime comptroller Linda Rychcik retired in December 2012.
Sarver had originally been a city employee in the clerk’s office for about three years until 2003. She then began working for Cattaraugus County in various positions, last serving as an auditor for the county before being hired as the city comptroller.
During her tenure, the city had undergone a significant shift in its budget management amid the Seneca Nation’s casino compact dispute with New York state. Prior to the Nation’s decision to withhold payments, the city began saving millions of dollars each budget year, which helped the city survive between 2017 and 2021 without layoffs.
Earley has worked in the comptroller’s office for about four years, Magiera said. Before being hired at the city, Earley worked in accounting for Cattaraugus County and had his own business, the mayor said. “He has the experience.”
At this time, the city is not actively looking for a permanent comptroller to appoint. Magiera said the council may vote on appointing Earley as provisional comptroller in the coming months.
“I’m sure it will be advertised at some point if he retires,” the mayor said. “He’s getting to that age too where he might want to retire, but for now he said he’s here for as long as we need him.”
Magiera said the two biggest upcoming projects for the comptroller’s office are gathering and listing the delinquent property taxes from the previous couple of years as well as the annual internal audit for the city, which is expected in September.
“Other than that, I don’t think we have anything big until budget in January,” she added. “There’s a lot going on right now, but I think with all of us working together as a team, we’ll get through it.”
The mission of the city comptroller is to collect and accurately account for city revenues and to disburse and account for city expenditures in compliance with state and local regulation, according to the city’s website.
The office’s services include accounts receivable; annual tax schedule; collection of delinquent school taxes; collection of Indian leases within city limits; debt issuance and management; issuance and collection of ambulance, special assessments and advance life service bills; issuance and collection of city and county taxes; issuance and preparation of city payroll; and preparation of tax searches for property transfers.
The city comptroller position has been a fairly stable in Salamanca, with four individuals — Fred Gardner (1914-21; 1923-48), Paul Taylor (1957-83), Rychcik (1983-2012) and Sarver (2013-2022) — combining to serve in the position for 96 of the city’s nearly 110 years.
