R.T. Council appoints new tax receiver
October 30, 2024 at 11:01 p.m.
For the last 18 years, residents stopped by the Town of Rye Tax Office at 222 Grace Church St. to hand off their taxes to Nick Mecca. But now, they’ll be met with a new face.
Carla Pugliese was appointed to the Receiver of Taxes position following Mecca’s retirement on Oct. 18, with a salary of $91,000.
“People have come in asking for Nick and I’ve had to break the news that he’s not here anymore,” she said on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
The Rye Town Council appointed the Locust Avenue resident for the role after she had about a month of experience as the second deputy tax receiver, the job for which she was hired on Sept. 19.
The position was created in May because Mecca had begun to discuss the possibility of retirement from his elected post before the end of his four-year term. She was brought in to allow the office to operate at full efficiency should he step down.
As Mecca’s resignation fell too close to the November election to see the position on the 2024 ballot, Pugliese will hold the role until the end of 2025. In November 2025, voters will decide who will hold the job until the end of Mecca’s term in 2027.
While Pugliese’s promotion came very shortly into her tenure as deputy, she felt it was a decision based on her experience and time working in the Town.
“Before working here, I was a bookkeeper for 30 years,” Pugliese said. She worked her way up to the position at National Professional Resources on South Regent Street before the company relocated to Florida.
“I started there as a receptionist, but I always had an interest in numbers and they were willing to help me learn,” she said.
Her career as an office manager brought her to the Town of Rye in 2021.
“I had been looking for a new job after the COVID pandemic, and a friend of mine sent me an ad on Facebook,” Pugliese recalled. “And I’ve been here even since.”
Her time in the Town is one of the reasons she was hired to be the next tax receiver.
“We went through a very extensive process when going through the candidates,” Rye Town Supervisor Gary Zuckerman said. “We came to the conclusion that Carla was the best person for the job. She’s well-qualified and has been with the Town for quite some time, so she was able to fit in well with the rest of the team.”
It was during her stint as a bookkeeper in the supervisor’s office that Mecca approached her to propose shifting to the tax office.
“Nick came up to me one day and asked what I thought about moving over into his office and after I said yes, he made it happen,” Pugliese said.
While bookkeeping and serving as a receiver of taxes require different methodologies, she explained that they’re still similar in some regards.
“You use different programs and there’s a lot more public interaction in this office, but I think the outcomes are the same,” the 59-year-old said. “You have to do your job and make sure finances are collected and distributed properly.”
Though Mecca retired from the position while she was still in her early days in the department, he did his best to ensure she would be prepared for the job.
“I definitely learned a lot from him even before I was in the tax office,” she said. “And he waited until the first half of taxes were due this year to retire, which I commend him for. He didn’t need to do that. But it really showed me what a receiver does during that hectic period.”
Additionally, her predecessors have left behind resources that she frequently turns to.
“Nick actually left us a very detailed month-to-month schedule of what we can expect to do,” Pugliese said. “I also have spreadsheets and notes that Carol Truance left in the office.”
Truance served as deputy for 34 years until she died in 2022.
Though Pugliese wasn’t able to work alongside Truance for long, she said the staff at the Town are the most valuable learning resources for her.
“I have a lot of support here from everyone,” she said. “There’s such a nice group of people who have been here for a while. The office runs really well because everyone here is very experienced.”
On top of receiving assistance from the other members of the tax office team, consisting of Deputy Receiver José Ramos and clerks Jeffrey Leath and Terri Mitchell, Pugliese has another nearby resource who has been in her shoes.
“I’m very fortunate that Hope Vespia’s desk is right across from mine,” she said. “She’s got a world of knowledge when it comes to this job and she’s always willing to help me out.”
Vespia, the Town Clerk, served 18 years as the receiver before Mecca stepped into the role in 2006. Before them, James Jackson was in the seat for 41 years.
“It’s definitely a job people don’t want to leave,” Pugliese said. “And I intend on staying for as long as I can.”
Though well aware the future of the job is in the hands of Rye Town voters, Pugliese isn’t focusing on next year’s election.
“We’re preparing for the next round of tax collection right now,” she said. “But I’m looking forward to it. Getting to know residents when they come to drop off their taxes.”
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