County Treasurer Retiring at End of Month

SCHOHARIE COUNTY — Schoharie County's Treasurer has decided to call it a career.

Citing the December death of her husband and other family circumstances, an emotional Mary Ann Wollaber-Bryan announced at the Friday, July 18 county Board of Supervisors meeting her intention to retire at the end of the month. She will be 62 next month.

Wollaber-Byan was first elected to the position in 2019 and reelected in 2023, with her current four-year term expiring at the end of 2027. Her husband, Ken Bryan, died on Dec. 23 after a battle with leukemia.

"Life drastically changed when my husband passed," Wollaber-Bryan said at the July 18 meeting. "Death changes you. I've decided I need to live whatever life I have left to the fullest. That's where my priority is now. I am sorry I won't be able to finish out my full term. Now, all my focus is on my family."

Board members praised Wollaber-Bryan and wished her well.

"Circumstances drive us," Supervisor Donald Airey said. "Sometimes they depress us and sometimes they lift us. Thank you for what you have brought to this county."

Added fellow board member Earl VanWormer III: "I want to thank you for all your service. You will not find a smarter, more dedicated person than Mary Ann Wollaber-Bryan."

She has 30 years of public service. Before becoming County Treasurer, Wollaber-Bryan worked for seven years in the Schoharie County Clerk/Department of Motor Vehicles Office and then 17 years in what is now the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

As county treasurer, Wollaber-Bryan took a leading role in county finances, both from a day-to-day basis and on major projects and policies. County BOS Chairman Bill Federice said the likely course of action now is for the board to appoint an interim replacement for Wollaber-Bryan and then have the County Treasurer position put up for election on the November ballot. Wollaber-Bryan's current annual salary in the position is $104,000.

In other actions from the July 18 meeting, the County Supervisors approved several resolutions. One proclaimed the week of July 20-26 as Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week. The action recognized community corrections professionals for their achievements.

Another resolution appointed Paul Koopmann of Middleburgh as a member and Bruce Stacey of Cobleskill as an alternate member to the Schoharie County Planning Commission. Koopmann's term will expire on June 30, 2027 and Stacey's on June 30, 2028.

New County Administrator Bryan Best was appointed to the position of Budget Officer of Schoharie County at no additional salary over and above his annual salary of $150,000 as county administrator.