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Beau Payne named as animal control officer

HALSEY QUINN PHOTO Newly minted town animal control officer Beau Payne at home with a friend.
HALSEY QUINN PHOTO Newly minted town animal control officer Beau Payne at home with a friend.

The Town Board tapped Beau Payne on Tuesday as the new animal control officer.

With the appointment, Mr. Payne will relieve other town employees from managing efforts to reduce the  number of deer on the Island and ticks that carry serious diseases.

His post will include deploying and maintaining 4-poster units, the feeding stands that brush deer with a tickicide, permethrin; establishing relationships with property owners where deer hunts can be conducted; administering the town’s incentive program for hunters; tracking statistics; and hunting to increase the number of deer taken.

He starts his duties on May 2 at a salary of $50,000. Following a probationary period, he will receive a $5,000 raise on July 1.

Before the appointment, Councilman Jim Colligan thanked Department of Public Works employee Nick Ryan for his “backbreaking work” deploying and maintaining the 4-poster units. After training Mr. Payne, Mr. Ryan will return to his full-time job with the Highway Department.

Work will also be lifted from the shoulders of Police Chief Jim Read and Deer & Tick Committee secretary Jennifer Beresky. The chief has coordinated the deer hunts on the Island and, along with Ms. Beresky, handled the tracking of numbers and other paperwork.

Ms. Beresky also works for the Police and Highway departments.