01/26/05
Otsego social services commissioner to retire after 14 years
By Tom Grace
Cooperstown News Bureau
Charles Christman, Otsego County’s social services commissioner, is slated to retire March 25.
"I’ve enjoyed my job, but I think it’s time to go," Christman, 62, said Tuesday.
"I still have a lot of energy, and I don’t want to stay home," he said. "I may go to work for the Home Depot or Lowe’s. I like the kinds of things they sell, and I think it would be fun to work there.
"I just don’t want to be responsible for other people’s lives," he said.
Christman has been involved in others’ lives since 1969 when he went to work as a caseworker at the Delaware County Department of Social Services.
"I worked in the food stamp program when that began, and in adult services," he said.
He later became a deputy DSS commissioner in Delaware County.
In 1991, the Otsego County Board of Representatives hired him to be county DSS commissioner.
In this role, at the head of a department whose budget is about $25 million this year, he has had to balance the needs of clients and taxpayers, employees and management.
"Mostly it has been good, but there have been a few rough spots," he said.
During his career, social services have evolved.
"I think we’ve seen a much greater emphasis on children’s safety, which is progress," he said. "On the legal end, though, it has gotten much more complicated, and that’s not always good."
Christman, whose annual salary for 2005 was slated to be $62,008, said he may continue to serve on advisory boards to help guide the delivery of services to county residents.
"After I retire, that’ll be the extent of my involvement," he said.
His secretary, June Gus of Richfield, said she will miss her boss.
"I’ve really enjoyed it here," she said. "He picked me to be his secretary from within the department, and that’s unusual. He’s been a pleasure to work for."
Dolly Hunter, clerk in the county’s Personnel Office, said a lot of people will miss Christman "because he’s a nice guy."
Rep. Ronald Feldstein, D-Otego, chairman of the county’s Human Services Committee, said, "Charlie has done a magnificent job for the county, and we’re going to miss him."
The county will search the nation for a successor, Feldstein said.
"It’s a job that carries a tremendous responsibility, and we need the right person," he said.
Rep. James Powers, R-Butternuts, a member of the Human Services Committee, said Christman has "done an excellent job balancing the needs of poor people and taxpayers. And he’s a great guy."
Rep. Kevin Hodne, D-Oneonta, also a member of the committee, said the commissioner "has done a great job, and not always under the easiest conditions. We’re going to miss him, and I wish him well in retirement."
