LEWISTON — After winning a nasty election fight in which he hammered incumbent Fred M. Newlin II over a 37 percent pay increase, new Supervisor Steven L. Reiter is being paid more than Newlin was last year — and is spending nearly twice as much on town budget work.

Last year, Newlin was paid $39,500 and his part-time budget officer received $31,739. Neither got medical benefits, but with required federal benefits, a total of $77,000 was spent on the two posts.

This year, Reiter is keeping the salary that included the 37 percent raise Newlin got last year, plus a 3 percent raise all town employees received for 2010.

His salary will be $40,685.

His new part-time budget officer will be paid more than $41,000 — or at least $8,261 more than Newlin’s budget officer,—and will collect benefits that neither Newlin, Reiter nor the former supervisor’s part-time budget officer received.

Meanwhile, a new position of full-time accountant has been created

and filled by a Reiter family friend who was the only person considered for the job.

She will be paid $37,000, plus benefits.

Town taxpayers now will spend nearly $137,000 for work that cost them $77,000 last year.

“I can assure you there was no money allocated [during last year’s budget process] to create a new position like an accountant,” Newlin told The Buffalo News last week. “I can’t even imagine where she has her office.”

Newlin said he got his raise last year because the supervisor’s role was expanded to help with contract negotiations, keep an eye on revenues, make sure expenses match projections and keep a handle on town purchases.

Some of this work now will be done by part-time budget officer Michael Johnson, who will be paid $41,172 and also negotiated for benefits. The hike in pay includes a $7,500 increase from the previous year in order to do work on contracts and special purchases.

“All this was done by two part-time people last year,” Newlin said. “All the roles got divvied up, but in the final analysis it was the administration of a $14 million budget.”

When pressed about his role in the new town order, Reiter said last week he would be a “hands-on person” working more closely with people than numbers.

“I’m not raising my own salary,” he said, predicting, “My salary will probably go down next year to $30,000.”

Experience cited

Johnson was the lone Democrat on the Town Board when he left last month after 14 years to take his new part-time position, which was unanimously approved by Republican board members. He was paid $13,452 a year in his old position, and did not receive benefits.

He and Reiter are in the state pension system, a taxpayer supported benefit that Newlin and his part-time budget officer chose not to take.

Meanwhile, neither Johnson nor Reiter see Johnson’s personal bankruptcy as a problem in the new job. Johnson, a realtor, said his personal bankruptcy was 10 years ago, over a buyer who walked away from a large sale.

“People file bankruptcy. This is old news. I don’t see where it’s relevant. It’s kind of disappointing that you get this when you want to step into another element of the town,” Johnson said.

He said his experience includes work on 14 town budgets, running his real estate business and doing his own bookkeeping.

Johnson, the former Town Board highway liaison, also had asked to be considered for an appointment to Reiter’s former job as highway superintendent, a $71,000-a-year post, Reiter confirmed.

“That wouldn’t have been a good fit,” Reiter said, “but Mike is someone I can work with [as budget officer].”

Former part-time budget officer Alice DiRamio made $31,739 in 2009, and did not receive health benefits in her 5z years on the job, as Johnson will.

Newlin said he advertised and received applications from all over Western New York when he hired his budget officer. A team of three, which included a certified public accountant, helped hire DiRamio, a woman he had never met, to fill the job as part-time budget officer.

Reiter said he did not advertise to fill either of the two financial posts.

Family friend

The new accountant, Katelyn Farnham, 23, told The News she has no experience in town government accounting and is a family friend of Reiter’s.

Farnham graduated last May from Niagara University with a master’s degree in finance, and worked in finance and accounting at HSBC as an intern, and for six months was a senior manager at the new Snow Park in Niagara Falls.

“I’m kind of happy I found her,” Reiter said. “We were looking for young talent. With these two individuals I feel very comfortable and I would ask you to come back in six months and I could give you an update on how we are doing.”

Farnham will be paid $37,000.

Newlin handled some of the work she will do, which is why the majority of the Town Board approved a budget for 2009 with the 37 percent pay hike, which amounted to $11,000.

The Town Board voted unanimously Monday to use contingency funds to come up with the tens of thousands of dollars needed for the increased salaries and benefits for the pair of financial jobs.

Newlin said that would account for about 60 percent of the current $100,000 contingency budget, which usually is used for emergencies such as water line failures or unanticipated legal matters, and has never been used on personnel.

“They’ve gone through more than half of it in the first six weeks in office,” Newlin said.

Reiter said he didn’t want to criticize the previous administration, but he needs to “surround himself with good people” to make sure they don’t miss anything when it comes to town finances. He said some of the Modern tipping fee revenues are very complex, and he added, “Mike or Katelyn will keep track of that, but I am still working on that.”

During the last five years, none of the department heads had budget meetings with the board, Reiter said, and that’s something he plans to change.

“Sometimes to get good things you’ve got to spend a little money,” Reiter said, “and I’m positive we won’t spend as much money on engineers and lawyers as the past board. In two years, we spent $530,000 on engineering. I guarantee you, we won’t spend half of that this year . . .

“I want to hear the positive stuff, not the negative stuff,” he added. “I’m going in a different direction. That’s why I was elected.”