Kristi Romano never thought she’d work for her hometown’s government. But, she’s not surprised it’s where she ended up.
“I’ve always been interested in government. I’ve always liked the way that government works,” Romano said. “I never thought I would be working in it, but I’m not surprised.”
Romano spent a little over a decade in banking and finance roles before taking a few years off to care for her children. As she reentered the workforce in the early 2010s, she saw a job posting for part-time work in her hometown Village of Williston Park, handling water billing, permit licensing and office duties, in 2014.
“When the job opportunity opened up, I thought, I knew the area, and I love it here,” Romano, who now lives in Westbury, said. “I was so happy to come back.”
After a few years, she moved into full-time work with the village, taking on the position of board secretary in 2018 because she said she loved the work and being involved in the village.
In 2023, she became a clerk-treasurer and hasn’t looked back since. She says she takes her work seriously and finds her role in this small-scale local government fascinating.
“Once I started working here, I loved what I was doing. I find it fascinating how government works,” Romano said. “We’re such a small government at this local village level. It’s like a microcosm of the government. I really like how everything works together.”
“I love being kind of like the checks and balances, watching what’s going on and making sure that everything runs smoothly,” she added.
Another thing she likes about working at the local level of government is how personal, direct and efficient constituent services are.
“It’s personal service. People come in and they’re seeing the same faces all the time,” Romano said. “If people are calling the office, they know they’re going to get an answer, because it’s on a small level. You’re not dialing into an 800 number and getting transferred all over the place. We’ll handle it all here.”
“It’s nice for people to be able to have that personalized service and that relationship, and know they’re not getting shoved off to someone else at a different location or a different department,” she added. She said she comes to help people who walk into village hall with a question whenever needed.
She said one thing she’s most proud of is her work in keeping the property tax levy increase under the 2% cap, especially in these times of escalating costs.
“We go through the budget line by line and see where we can make cuts. We don’t spend carelessly and we budget for what we know we’re going to need,” Romano said. “I was proud that we’re able to do that so well because costs are rising.”
“I’ve always liked numbers. I like accounting, bookkeeping and investing,” she said, adding that her financial background has helped her. “I’m always cognizant of where the money is and what kind of return it’s getting and the bank reconciliation of knowing what’s going on and what where everything is.”
Another part of her work she’s proud of is supporting the coordination of the water rate studies the village carried out when determining how to filter the chemical PFAS out of its drinking water and grant applications for the work when she first took the job.
Beyond the office-specific work she does, which she said runs the gamut from collecting taxes to running elections to supporting the building department and board, Romano emphasized that she’s committed to helping everyone in the village who might have an issue.
“I like being involved with what’s going on. I like getting answers for people and figuring things out,” Romano said. “We definitely have an open door here. We’re always here. Just call or stop by. We always have time to talk.”
“If you have an issue, come in and talk about it. And if you want to know something, we’ll tell you everything that we know about it,” Romano added. “I would never give up this job.”
Romano and her staff can be reached at the village’s direct line of (516) 746-2193.
