Fall River City Council appoints new city treasurer-collector

FALL RIVER — The City Council in a unanimous vote approved the appointment of Ian Schachne to dual roles as the city’s head of the treasurer and collector departments.

Schachne has been the director of the collector’s department since 2017, but was appointed as interim city treasurer when former treasurer Paulianne Martins-Texeira left the post earlier this year.

For years, the two positions have been run by separate department heads, but Director of Financial Services Mary Sahady, who oversees Schachne, said she’s learned that the dual position is actually by ordinance.

“He’s a strong candidate and can certainly handle both positions,” said Sahady. “Also, when we interviewed for the treasurer position, we didn’t get any candidates that had strong treasury backgrounds. Ian is very smart and he also has assistants that he’s very comfortable with and can rely on.”

Schachne’s two responsibilities will also save money for the city. Before getting the new positions, Martins-Texeira salary was $90,000 a year with Schachne earning $85,000 annually. His new salary is $105,000.

“That’s a $70,000 savings, so that’s certainly helpful,” she said.

While the council was unanimous with the change, City Councilor Linda Pereira expressed concern that a city the size of Fall River would not have a dedicated treasurer and a dedicated collector.

“I understand we’re in a tough financial crisis and there are communities that have collector-treasurers. I think it works in some small towns. I think with our population, I hope that we would eventually be able to a collector and get a treasurer,” said Pereira.

Email Jo C. Goode at jgoode@heraldnews.com.