The tax collector job is up for grabs because most members of the 15-member City Council didn't support reappointing incumbent Robert Kane.
Holyoke City Hall.HOLYOKE – A subcommittee interviewed five more candidates for city tax collector Tuesday and the full City Council is set to vote to fill the job March 15.
The Public Service Committee interviewed six candidates Monday for the job, which will pay a yearly salary in the low-$60,000 range.
Incumbent Robert F. Kane has been tax collector since 1993, but failed to win reappointment from the City Council, which instead voted last month to solicit candidates. Kane is among the 11 interviewed.
The city received 29 applications for the job by the Feb. 21 deadline. Acting Personnel Administrator Jeanette Berrios said only 18 qualified for the position and of that total, seven either withdrew or failed to attend scheduled interviews.
The job has a residency requirement, which was mistakenly omitted from the advertisement seeking candidates.
All of the candidates who live outside the city said they understood the residency rule and would be willing to move here.
Six of the 11 candidates interviewed live here. Others were from Amherst, Monson, Chicopee, Agawam and Portland, Maine.
The candidates interviewed Tuesday were:
• Bruce Mitchell, of Holyoke, member of the Historical Commission and a former restaurant manager;
• Karen MacDonald, of Amherst, grants manager with Community Action of Franklin, Hampshire and North Quabbin Regions Inc., in Greenfield;
• Amarilis Arroyo, of Monson, assistant administrator with O’Connell Professional Nurse Service Inc.;
• John C. Pietrzykowski, of Holyoke, staff accountant with the Valley Opportunity Council here and former School Committee member;
• Kimberly Aubrey, of Holyoke, owner of Aubrey Bookkeeping Services here.
Besides Kane, the candidates interviewed Monday were:
• Katharine Johnston, of Portland, Maine, assistant finance director for the town of Gorham, Maine;
• David Guzman, of Holyoke, business development specialist in the city Office of Planning and Development;
• Bridget M. O’Connor, of Holyoke, associate technical assistant-land court supervisor at the Hampden County Registry of Deeds in Springfield;
• Denise Moreno, of Chicopee, daycare provider with Guardian Angel Daycare, of Chicopee, former tax clerk for city of Holyoke;
• Melinda Lane, of Agawam, comptroller in the Police Department here.
Councilors questioned candidates about their ability to handle municipal accounting, including ensuring that cash received equals cash deposited; managing staff; and dealing with conflicts and politics inherent in city government.