If the only two certain things in life are death ad taxes, it is a good bet that virtually all Newtown residents have had some sort of contact with Carol Mahoney during their lifetime. But that will not be the case for very much longer.

The longtime town tax collector announced recently that she is planning to retire before month's end, in part, so she can do some traveling and spend more time with her children and family.

That news inspired a number of past and current local officials to come forward to wish Ms Mahoney well.

"For almost 30 years Carol Mahoney has served our community as tax collector," said First Selectman Pat Llodra. "She is known by all who have had occasion to work with her as colleague or resident as kind and careful, very professional, a great listener, and sincerely interested in one's personal welfare. Carol demonstrated great grace and compassion when dealing with oftentimes difficult issues. She will be missed."

Finance Director Robert Tait said he, too, will miss his retiring colleague.

"In my eight-plus years here as finance director at the Town of Newtown, the tax collector's office was the least of my worries," Mr Tait said. "I always had the utmost confidence in Carol. She has run her office as a professional while always putting the customer first. She treated her staff with respect while expecting the best from them. I will miss working with Carol and wish her the best in retirement."

Prior to Mr Tait's hiring, Ms Mahoney worked with former Finance Director Ben Spragg, who also reached out with best wishes.

"From the time she was appointed as tax collector I knew that Carol Mahoney was the right person for the position," Mr Spragg recalled. "She had the temperament and desire to oversee the town's tax collector's office with impressive results. Enjoy retirement!"

Assessor Penny Mudgett, who shares office space and works most frequently with Ms Mahoney, said over the past 15 years working together, "I truly appreciated everything she has done for me. Her guidance, support, and encouragement has helped me thrive in this competitive environment. I will miss her very much, but wish her the best in retirement."

Former First Selectman and current Selectman Herb Rosenthal also recalled Ms Mahoney doing "a wonderful job as tax collector for so many years that she will surely be missed by both the residents she served so well and also her fellow Town of Newtown employees.

"I have known Carol for 50 years and certainly enjoyed working with her during the ten years that I was first selectman," Mr Rosenthal added. "She has my wife, Michelle, and my best wishes for a well-deserved retirement. We hope to continue our friendship with Carol over the years to come."

Sitting down for a brief chat with The Newtown Bee, Ms Mahoney said first and foremost, "how fortunate I have been to work with such an incredible dedicated staff who feel the same way about good customer service as I do."

She said from day one, when she became employed as a clerk in the tax office, she became very sensitive to the taxpayers who came in, whether they were expressing perennial concern as taxes edged continuously upward, or were facing a financial setback or family crisis that temporarily prevented them from paying their current tax bills.

Through it all, under Ms Mahoney's leadership, she consistently maintained collections in excess of 99 percent, and it was an extremely rare case that a delinquent account faced a lien or foreclosure. In fact, she even worked closely with a department vendor to collect some or all back taxes due on some accounts that were long-delinquent and thought by some officials to be uncollectible.

"Whenever someone would come in upset, my staff knew exactly how to make them feel more comfortable," Ms Mahoney said. "I think it's hard enough for people to be facing a financial crisis. That's when you need to make that person feel better, not to make them feel worse." Ms Mahoney said. "I think it's hard enough for people to be facing a financial crisis. That's when you need to make that person feel better, not to make them feel worse."

On the occasion that one of her staffers found a taxpayer to be inconsolable, Ms Mahoney said she would intervene and bring them back to her corner desk - offering them tissues for their tears, or a glass of water or cup of tea to temper their rage.

"We almost always are able to calm the person down, let them know we understand they are going through a tough time, and they leave knowing there is a way they can meet their obligations with a temporary delay, or a payment plan they can handle," she said. "We do everything we possibly can for anyone facing troubles within the law."

After serving in the tax office as an administrative assistant, Ms Mahoney was asked to step in to what was then a vacancy in the elected tax collector's position. That was just after Election Day in November 1988.

But before the next election cycle two years later, Ms Mahoney recalled that a charter revision changed the tax collector into an appointed post, and she remained in the job ever since.

Over the years, one of the best and most important programs she said she has handled is a local senior and disabled tax relief program, which now assists more than 700 local families providing more than $1.4 million in property tax relief based on financial need.

While she misses the "charm" of Edmond Town Hall and the proximity to Main Street, she said the move to the Municipal Center at Fairfield Hills enhanced the professionalism of her staff with a clean and modern office environment both her staffers and their "customer" taxpayers deserved.

"I always loved working with the public, listening to them," she said. "It's been a wonderful, wonderful experience. I feel so fortunate to have met and worked with so many incredible people."

Besides her work in the tax office, Ms Mahoney has served in the community, first as a corporator and for many years since, on the Board of Directors for Newtown Savings Bank. She served on the Newtown Youth Services Board for a number of years, and spent five years as an emergency hotline volunteer, answering crisis calls for The Women's Center regional domestic violence prevention agency in Danbury.

Along with spending more time with her loved ones, Ms Mahoney thinks she will increase her volunteer hours - perhaps working at hospitals and with veterans, assisting them with financial issues or their own tax paperwork.

"Before I go, I would like to thank First Selectman Pat Llodra, and past first selectmen and finance directors who have been very supportive over the years... Herb Rosenthal, Joe Borst, Bob Tait, Ben Spragg and so many others," she said.

Assistant Tax Collector Donna Saputo will assume the leadership position as tax collector after Ms Mahoney's last day, November 30.