Thursday, June 2, 2016
STONEHAM, MA - With
the search for a new town administrator now likely to extend into
September, the Board of Selectmen might appoint a temporary CEO to
manage Stoneham’s day-to-day operations.
During a meeting on Tuesday night in Town Hall,
the Board of Selectmen voted 4-to-1 in favor of obtaining from a public
consulting team a short-list of interim town manager candidates
available to hire immediately.
Acknowledging the arrangement is less than ideal — as it eliminates the chance for Town Administrator David Ragucci to work alongside his replacement to facilitate a smoother transition — Selectman Thomas Boussy explained a candidate screening committee likely won’t finish its process until July.
“Friday is the deadline for applications and we need a couple of weeks to [wean out candidates],” said Boussy, who along with Selectmen Chair Ann Marie O’Neill, will serve on the search committee. “You’re probably not going to see a new town administrator until September.”
Ragucci’s contract expires on June 30.
A divided Board of Selectmen voted last February against renewing the former Mayor of Everett’s employment pact, though members George Seibold and Anthony Wilson were not involved in that decision — they were elected last April.
Seibold, who has made clear his desire to renew contract talks with Ragucci, was the lone dissenter on Tuesday night.
“It’s just bad timing,” responded Seibold, voicing his displeasure about the likely disjointed transition between Ragucci and his successor. “It should have been planned better to have a new town administrator step in. This is just not good for the town.”
The recent action does not authorize anyone to actually retain an interim leader, but starts the process by which representatives from UMass’ Boston’s Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management can begin considering such an arrangement.
Collins Center staff were retained by the selectmen last March to assist in the search. The public consultants, whose services were retained for $14,000, have guided a myriad of other communities through the hiring process for town managers.
In total, they have steered the searches for some 40 local government executives, and over the past decade, only two of those hires have left their positions — including one who accepted an appointment by Gov. Charles Baker to a state commission.
Last March, when Collins Center official Richard Kobayashi pitched his office’s services, he predicted it would take 120-days to complete the hiring process.
However, under the timetable described by Boussy this week, Ragucci’s replacement might not be chosen until August, and given the new hire will likely need to give some notice to his/her existing employer, the corner office in Town Hall might not be occupied by a full-time CEO before September.
Kobayashi recommends a search committee be utilized to assist in the process, because otherwise, initial interviews with job candidates would have to occur in open session during a Board of Selectmen’s meeting.
Provisions of the state’s Open Meeting Law allow a search panel to meet behind closed doors to screen out job applicants, as long as that vetting process doesn’t extend beyond a semi-finalist phase.
According to the consulting team, job seekers may drop out of contention if their initial interviews are conducted in public, because an open process could reveal to their employers they’re searching for work elsewhere.
The screening committee is expected to recommend five finalists for the vacancy, and the full Board of Selectmen will conduct all interviews in public session from that point forward.
According to Boussy, because of their expertise in the field, Collins Center staff have compiled a list of temporary managers, most of whom have retired from full-time work as town managers, who work on a consulting or interim basis.
Though not opposed to the concept of utilizing that resource, Wilson argued the board needed to agree upon the process by which that temporary leader will be selected.
“We have a process for vetting a full-time town administrator. What’s the process for a temporary one, if we’re going that route?” he asked.
“We have three weeks before Dave’s last day. So if we can at least get the list, [we could work that out],” Boussy responded.
Though he ultimately voted against the proposal, Seibold sought assurances any interim town administrator will be prevented from entering into contract talks or other types of negotiations that could bind the town to long-term legal agreements.
“I would say under no circumstances would a new town administrator negotiate any contracts,” Boussy agreed.
Acknowledging the arrangement is less than ideal — as it eliminates the chance for Town Administrator David Ragucci to work alongside his replacement to facilitate a smoother transition — Selectman Thomas Boussy explained a candidate screening committee likely won’t finish its process until July.
“Friday is the deadline for applications and we need a couple of weeks to [wean out candidates],” said Boussy, who along with Selectmen Chair Ann Marie O’Neill, will serve on the search committee. “You’re probably not going to see a new town administrator until September.”
Ragucci’s contract expires on June 30.
A divided Board of Selectmen voted last February against renewing the former Mayor of Everett’s employment pact, though members George Seibold and Anthony Wilson were not involved in that decision — they were elected last April.
Seibold, who has made clear his desire to renew contract talks with Ragucci, was the lone dissenter on Tuesday night.
“It’s just bad timing,” responded Seibold, voicing his displeasure about the likely disjointed transition between Ragucci and his successor. “It should have been planned better to have a new town administrator step in. This is just not good for the town.”
The recent action does not authorize anyone to actually retain an interim leader, but starts the process by which representatives from UMass’ Boston’s Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management can begin considering such an arrangement.
Collins Center staff were retained by the selectmen last March to assist in the search. The public consultants, whose services were retained for $14,000, have guided a myriad of other communities through the hiring process for town managers.
In total, they have steered the searches for some 40 local government executives, and over the past decade, only two of those hires have left their positions — including one who accepted an appointment by Gov. Charles Baker to a state commission.
Last March, when Collins Center official Richard Kobayashi pitched his office’s services, he predicted it would take 120-days to complete the hiring process.
However, under the timetable described by Boussy this week, Ragucci’s replacement might not be chosen until August, and given the new hire will likely need to give some notice to his/her existing employer, the corner office in Town Hall might not be occupied by a full-time CEO before September.
Kobayashi recommends a search committee be utilized to assist in the process, because otherwise, initial interviews with job candidates would have to occur in open session during a Board of Selectmen’s meeting.
Provisions of the state’s Open Meeting Law allow a search panel to meet behind closed doors to screen out job applicants, as long as that vetting process doesn’t extend beyond a semi-finalist phase.
According to the consulting team, job seekers may drop out of contention if their initial interviews are conducted in public, because an open process could reveal to their employers they’re searching for work elsewhere.
The screening committee is expected to recommend five finalists for the vacancy, and the full Board of Selectmen will conduct all interviews in public session from that point forward.
According to Boussy, because of their expertise in the field, Collins Center staff have compiled a list of temporary managers, most of whom have retired from full-time work as town managers, who work on a consulting or interim basis.
Though not opposed to the concept of utilizing that resource, Wilson argued the board needed to agree upon the process by which that temporary leader will be selected.
“We have a process for vetting a full-time town administrator. What’s the process for a temporary one, if we’re going that route?” he asked.
“We have three weeks before Dave’s last day. So if we can at least get the list, [we could work that out],” Boussy responded.
Though he ultimately voted against the proposal, Seibold sought assurances any interim town administrator will be prevented from entering into contract talks or other types of negotiations that could bind the town to long-term legal agreements.
“I would say under no circumstances would a new town administrator negotiate any contracts,” Boussy agreed.
“I would say under no circumstances would a new town administrator negotiate any contracts,” Boussy agreed.
ReplyDeleteUnder no circumstances.
Were we told a different story?
How much other stuff have we been told that was not what we were led to believe.
Amounts$$$, Dates,Audits,Deficits,Budgets, it goes on and on. The one common thing in all this is the lack of leadership year after year.
Is Templeton still asleep?
Do we learn from our mistakes?
What can we believe?
Time will tell but i think we may just have a leader we can trust to get things done not wonder what got done.
Last month, the Board of Selectmen retained former Springfield mayor Robert Markel to serve as interim town administrator, but he is only supervising Stoneham’s day-to-day operations two days a week.
ReplyDelete