Longtime Brewster Village Clerk Ready to Retire

By Holly Crocco

After 13 years as Brewster village clerk and treasurer, Peter Brewster Hansen is hanging up his hat.

“It’s been terrific – it’s a fantastic job,” he said last week. “The people of the village are great. Everyone is very supportive of making this village a better place.”

Hansen received a fond farewell in the most recent issue of the Village Matters municipal newsletter.

“Pete has guided this village with his eyes on the future,” said Village Trustee George Gaspar. “Financially, the village stands on solid ground. Spiritually, he is a guide to those that work at village office and he is a mentor to all.”

Hansen’s family owned a summer home in Putnam since 1941, and moved into the area full time in 1969. After graduating Brewster High School, he moved out of the state, got married and raised a family. He returned to the Brewster area when his mother became elderly.

During that time he met Mayor John Degnan. “We talked and he was looking for a clerk and treasurer,” explained Hansen.

With a background in installing computer control systems and software applications, project management experience, and cost accounting and finance knowledge, as well as sales and customer service experience, Hansen said it was a good fit for him.

He was appointed village clerk and treasurer by Degnan in 2006.

However, Hansen said the position is more than just recordkeeping. Over the past 13 years he has been responsible for drafting the village’s annual proposed budget, managing line items throughout the year, and overseeing operational management including personnel expenses and departmental expenditures.

“I liken it to a ‘village manager’ position,” he said. “It’s much more than the typical clerk-treasurer.”

One of the things Hansen said he is most proud of is helping to better the village’s financial footing.

“I’m most proud of being able to take the village from a very low bond rating – one step above junk – to an A+, and I’ve kept them there for the past 13 years,” he said. “And I couldn’t do it without the board’s cooperation.”

While Hansen can make recommendations to the Village Board, it is up to board members to take action and implement cost controls.

Even though the Village Board is made up of members of different political persuasions, Hansen, who is a Democrat, said they all work together.

In fact, Degnan was a Republican, as is current Mayor James Schoenig. Despite their differing political titles, Hansen was appointed – and re-appointed – by both mayors.

Schoenig wished Hansen good luck in his retirement in the Village Matters newsletter.

“As we come to the end of this year, the village will be losing one of the finest people I have ever had the chance to work with,” he said.

Schoenig explained that during the financial collapse of 2008, when many resident were struggling to pay their bills, Hansen was able to present a budget that provided a 13 percent tax decrease for homeowners.

“Peter and I have developed a friendship that I will treasure for the rest of my life,” he said. “The Village of Brewster has been lucky to have you for all these years.”

Hansen will be sending his retirement in South Carolina, where he and his wife have owned property for about 15 years, and where his wife over-winters. He said he also hopes to get in more visits with his grandkids, who live in Georgia and Arkansas, and will also likely get a part-time job.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m not going to sit around and watch television all day,” he said.

While Hansen is officially on the job through the end of the month, his replacement, Michelle Chiudina, took the oath of office last week. Chiudina has been working in an administrative capacity in the clerk’s office for the past two years and has been working closely with Hansen since he announced his plans to retire.