For those village residents who still stop in at the Cato municipal building to catch up on bills and trade anecdotes, the routine is about to change.

Cato Clerk Anne Porter will retire April 1 after 30 years at the helm of village business. For the past three decades, Porter has done a little bit of everything for the village, from taking tax bills to balancing budgets.

The Port Byron native moved to the village with her husband, Francis, in 1971. The job was originally a part-time opportunity to get out of the house.

“I was a young mother at the time,” said Porter, 57. “My daughter Juli was about 4 years old and I thought it was time to go back to work.”

There have been many changes since those days when recordkeeping were done by hand instead of computer. Reports to the board that used to be typed on a single sheet of paper are now printed by the pile.

Porter has also noticed a change as more commuters move in and forgo the trip to village hall and instead pay tax and utility bills by mail.

“We've become a bedroom community,” she said.

But some things stay the same. If you've ever dropped in at the village offices, chances are Porter will remember.

“We are a small village, so we are one big family in that regard,” Porter said. “I can usually put a face with the name.”

Mayor Carl Lincoln, who was elected to the board in 1975, said Porter's reliable reputation and friendly demeanor will be sorely missed.

“She's always been a major help to me through the years and I'm going to miss her terribly,” he said.

The search for a replacement is ongoing, but Porter has offered to help with the transition.

She plans to balance books for Federated Church of Port Byron, where she is a volunteer assistant treasurer, and read some of the books that have been piling up at home.

“Thirty years is good longevity,” said Jim Koury of the New York State Association of City and Village Clerks. “In a lot of villages, the appointments last two to four years.”

Both Porter and Sandra Kreplin, her retiring Weedsport counterpart, should be recognized for their lengthy service at an appointed position, he said.

Staff writer Shane Liebler can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or shane.liebler@lee.net

Weedsport's Kreplin says decision was difficult

By Shane M. Liebler / The Citizen

WEEDSPORT - For the first time in three decades, there's help wanted in the village.

Clerk/Treasurer Sandra J. Kreplin will mark 30 years of service with retirement in August. Though the timing is right, it was a difficult decision to make.

“I've spent half of my life here,” Kreplin said. “It's going to leave a big hole. It's quite a big change.”

After the village board denied her appointment once, she was persuaded to apply for the position again by former Mayor Gordon Perry, who left office just a few months after she started.

The extended tenure has weathered several changes in administrations and technology. Kreplin remembers a time before computers, when part of her job involved filing out ledgers - even cutting paychecks - by hand.

“I didn't have any special training, I've just grown with the job,” Kreplin said.

The introduction of computers in the office in the early 1980s presented challenges of its own, though. As one of the first municipalities to take on technology, it was difficult to get service on the software or computer.

It's the human interaction that makes the job worthwhile though, she said.

“I'm going to miss the people coming in to pay their tax bills and their water bills, even when they weren't happy with me,” Kreplin said.

She admits when she first arrived from her native East Syracuse at the age of 18, she wasn't captivated by her surroundings. People who moved away for college and career and then moved back to start families puzzled Kreplin.

Today her own children are raising families in the village.

“Weedsport's home,” she said.

Kreplin was interrupted by several phone calls on a recent afternoon. In addition to her record- and bookkeeping duties, Kreplin often directs calls for the town of Brutus, courts and police that come through the office regularly.

It will be just as big a job to replace her, Mayor Jean Saroodis said.

“She is a very reliable and trustworthy person,” Saroodis said. “She's just a great employee, and I do not want her to go.”

The search for her replacement already has started. Kreplin hopes she leaves the office in good hands when she retires to spend more time with her already retired husband and grandchildren.

“We bought a motor home and we're going to travel,” the 60-year-old Kreplin said.

She also plans to do volunteer work to keep her busy.

Staff writer Shane Liebler can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or shane.liebler@lee.net