Schoharie County has a new county administrator, Korsah Akumfi, who’s essentially been doing the job since Steve Wilson left in August.
In a 12-2 voice vote Friday, supervisors named Mr. Akumfi to the job; a formal resolution will follow in November.
Mr. Akumfi graduated from Binghamton University with a Master of Public Administration degree in 2020.
He also earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics and Law from BU in 2019 and is a 2016 graduate of Birkbeck School of Business, Economics, and Informatics in London.
He was hired as special assistant to Mr. Wilson in September of 2021.
After meeting with Supervisors’ chair Bill Federice—and accepting the job, Monday—Mr. Akumfi said he’s excited to be stepping into the role.
“There’s a great synergy here and I’m excited by the commitment being demonstrated by all the department heads and staff for what we’re trying to do,” he said.
“I’m confident we’ll be all able to collaborate with the supervisors on what we’re all trying to do. I want to be part of that.”
Mr. Akumfi said he’s especially excited by the new financial system the county is working on.
Though it’s hard to understand the importance of that from the outside, it’s a move that will allow for better budgeting by more accurately tracking expenditures and revenues.
Supervisors hope it will help them get a better handle on the fund balance and with that, taxes.
Mr. Akumfi’s appointment to the job will be for two years, Mr. Federice said Monday; the first of those will be probationary, he said, standard for new hires.
Mr. Federice said he, too, is excited to have Mr. Akumfi in the job.
“We think he’s done a very good job,” he said. “He took over working with the Budget Committee to produce a very difficult budget. He has the ability to work with others and he brings a very good vitality and energy.”
Supervisors received applications from 11 people interested in the administrator’s job, narrowed that down to four, and interviewed two, including Mr. Akumfi, Mr. Federice said.
Friday, supervisors went into executive session for more than an hour to discuss re-advertising for the position.
When they went back into regular session, they quickly named Mr. Akumfi to the job.
Mr. Akumfi said after the meeting that he needed the weekend to consider the offer—and weigh it against one from Tompkins County for the administrator’s position there.
One of the things that helped seal the deal for Schoharie County, he said, is the economic development work being done to expand the tax base—again to make taxes more comparable to those of nearby counties.
Voting against Mr. Akumfi’s appointment were supervisors Earlin Rosa from Seward and Jeff Haslun from Richmondville.
Excused from the meeting were Wes Laraway, Middleburgh, and Phil Skowfoe, who left before the executive session.
That left “yes” votes from Don Airey, Blenheim; Steve Weinhofer, Broome; John Leavitt, Carlisle; Werner Hample, Cobleskill; and Mr. Federice, Conesville.
Also: Earl Van Wormer, Esperance; Alicia Terry, Gilboa; Peggy Hait, Jefferson; Alan Tavenner, Schoharie; Sandy Manko, Sharon; Harold Vroman, Summit; and Alex Luniewski, Wright.