The Journal News (Westerchester County, NY), January 20, 2005, Thursday

Copyright 2005 The Journal News (Westerchester County, NY)
All Rights Reserved
The Journal News

January 20, 2005 Thursday

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 2A

HEADLINE: Another feather in Penny's cap

BYLINE: Patrick Gorman

BODY:
Administrator takes on new role at New Castle Town Hall
Patrick Gorman
The Patent Trader
Penelle Paderewski has been a presence in New Castle's Town Hall for nearly 20 years. She started in the finance department and now is deputy town administrator.
Over the years, one thing has remained constant - her affection for the town and its employees.
Paderewski - "Penny" as she's known around Town Hall - began her career with New Castle as director of finance in February 1986. A few years later she became the town's comptroller, a position she held through 2001.
Under her financial stewardship as comptroller, the town achieved a triple-A bond rating from Moody's Investor Service, that group's highest accolade for a municipality.
"I'm extremely proud of that accomplishment," Paderewski said.
In 2001, she held the joint position of comptroller/deputy town administrator, and switched over exclusively to the latter post when it became full-time in 2002.
Getting resourceful
Late last year, Paderewski earned a certificate in human resources through Cornell University's School of Industrial Relations. She will now help oversee human resource issues for the town - something new for New Castle.
The six-month course focused on personnel matters such as interviewing job candidates, handling evaluations and dealing with salary and retirement issues.
"It was a very comprehensive course," Paderewski said.
"We've never had a formal personnel officer here before," she said. "This is going to provide a tremendous benefit to our employees."
She's also pleased about continuing the town's employee assistance program, which offers workers help with monetary, retirement or family issues. Employees are referred to Longview Associates of Elmsford, a company specializing in employee assistance that the town has contracted with for the past five years.
"We're trying to spread the word among employees about this because we want them to know what services are available to them. We really value our employees, and programs like this really help morale," Paderewski said.
Supervisor Janet Wells said working with Paderewski is a pleasure.
"She's a wonderful deputy administrator, she has tremendous energy and she's very committed to the town. We really couldn't ask for more," Wells said.
Paderewski has seen a lot in her many roles with the town. "It's been nice to shift from just working with numbers to working as an administrator. It's been a wonderful experience for me," she said. "It's a very exciting time."
Out on the town
Paderewski is involved with a number of town projects, including the Chappaqua hamlet revitalization plan, the renovation of the Chappaqua train station house and the upcoming installation of a new computer operating system in Town Hall.
She has also been trying to get to know town employees, she said, to show that administrators care about all aspects of town operations. She has been sitting in on interviews for prospective employees to get a better feel for who town employees are.
Paderewski, a Mount Vernon native and mother of three, has lived in town for two decades, and loves it.
"It has been a lovely place to raise our children," she said.
In addition to her duties in Town Hall, Paderewski is president of the Chappaqua School Foundation.
"We raise funds for school district programs that are not included in the school district's budget," she said. Teachers in the district apply for "grants" from the foundation to help pay for any special programs that aren't funded by the district.
"It's just a different way to get involved," she said.
After 19 years of working for the town in which she lives, Paderewski said she couldn't be happier.
"I love working locally, and I love the community," she said.
All about Penny
* Married to husband, Allan, with three children, Jared, 20, Noah, 19 and Mia, 11.
* Favorite restaurant: Crabtree's Kittle House in Chappaqua.
"We've had special family events there, and it's a great restaurant," Paderewski said.
* Favorite weekend activity: spending time outdoors in Millwood's Gedney Park.
"We love going for walks around Gedney Park. They've done a wonderful job making improvements there over the past few years," she said.
* Best book she's read recently: "Running With Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs.
"It's an unbelievable story about a man's experiences growing up. His life was quite crazy," Paderewski said.