Moving On to Serve Another Village
After nearly four years as village clerk for the Village of Farmingdale, Dave Smollett is moving on, accepting a position at another Long Island village.
The new position of village administrator/clerk treasurer for the Village of Lawrence offers Smollett a location closer to his home and new challenges.
“I will miss the staff and camaraderie and the residents of Farmingdale,” he said. “I will always consider myself an adopted Daler.”
Working with two administrations, Smollett said he adapted well to both management styles and appreciated current Mayor George “Butch” Starkie’s “innovative leadership.”
“I would like to thank both administrations for allowing me the opportunity to achieve the accomplishments that I have in Farmingdale over the last four years,” Smollett added.
Those accomplishments include “completely updating the local and wide area network technology in the village, restructuring village finances, increasing the village’s bond rating, bringing management, operation structure and accountability within the village to make it run more efficiently.”
Prior to serving Farmingdale, Smollett was the deputy administrator for the Village of Lynbrook. He also served as their deputy village clerk/treasurer during his tenure there. He was previously a senior budget analyst for the New York State Financial Control Board overseeing New York City’s finances. His prior experience includes serving as an Information Technology Security Systems Consultant for AT&T, Control Data and Axent Technology. Dave holds a degree in public administration and finance from Baruch College. Currently he serves as the first vice president of the New York State Society of Municipal Finance Officers and as Nassau County director of the executive board for Long Island Village Clerks and Treasurers Association. However, it was as Village Clerk at Farmingdale that Smollett received the Village Clerk of the Year Award from General Code in early 2009.
He lives in Lynbrook with his wife Eileen and has three children and several grandchildren.
Deputy Village Clerk/Treasurer Elizabeth Kaye will take over the reins until a replacement is found.
“One of the best parts of working with Dave is how we complement each other,” Kaye said. “He likes to get out of the office and meet people face to face while I ‘hold down the fort.’ We all learned a lot from him on the technology front and will miss having that skill in-house. Dave always has a positive outlook on everything, which is important when dealing with so many situations on a daily basis. It was a pleasure working with him and he will be missed very much by all the staff.”
“It was a pleasure working with Dave first as a trustee and then as mayor,” Mayor George “Butch” Starkie added. “I wish him well in his new position. The village is in very capable hands with Liz Kaye, our deputy clerk, treasurer, until Dave’s replacement is found.”
