Date: Saturday, April 26, 2008
Time: 9:00 A.M. – 11:07 A.M.
Present: Don, Roger Deal, Sue Olsen, Jim Stanton, Ken Sydow
Board met with Don Jutton of Municipal Management Resources regarding recruitment of ne w Town Administrator.
Mr. Jutton briefed the Board on his background:
· Former City Manager Salem and Littleton, New Hampshire.
· Company formed in 1989
· 350 communities in New England and a few outside New England-PA off.
· Local governments and school districts
His company would perform the following as part of the review and recruitment process:
· Org/op-studies/assessments
· Internal controls review
· MA qualified under rating factors of MGL
· He will review resumes and share his opinion
What we can do to move this ahead? If Town finds candidate, the company will not charge the Town; will bill only time invested.
Jim explained past process for Town Administrator with one candidate.
· Approach:
recognize each community’s personalities
One will withdraw
Slim pickings
New England housing market past eight-plus years
· Process:
National average tenure – under four years
Communities don’t use solid evaluations so we (company) need to understand communities
Partner – low key
Need to understand Boylston and its future and Board’s desires
New England government management very different from elsewhere
Advertise through ICMA
Involve community
Jim: Board of Selectmen determine pool that others get to select. Board of Selectmen ID one or two selections for others.
Don: Understand issues
Create challenge statement for review/Board of Selectmen
Candidates review statement
Company’s review team to screen “don’t fits”
Applicants – 35/40% get through
Then require written essay focused on Town’s major issues
Review responses and rank
Telephone interview: one hour-plus
Salary range expectations
Board’s Desires:
· Town expects financial management, school business management
· Former assistant in larger community – hit the ground running
· Planning expectations; real estate expectations
· Pay and benefits up front contract
· Residence requirement? No, but nearby
· Municipal construction
· Unbiased, capable management skills
· Positive progress
· Managing people who don’t report to the Town Manager.
Jim:
· Background of TAs to date
· Health insurance: change co-pays – increase deductibles
· Fire station needs:
Bid new fire station
Buy custom truck
Vehicles no longer comply with DPW needs
Insurance rating
· Explanation of Town’s issues – regionalizing services
· Schools/regional issues and building
Discussed percentage of students in Town and formula for money
· Library needs
· Capital expansion – critical
Ken: History to current Board of Selectmen--makeup and background. Historic image of Board of Selectmen was poor/Ken to getting better.
Don: Regional image?
Jim: Conflict between Board of Selectmen and other Town boards.
Don: Staff planner? Response: No. Planning Board has outside engineering consultant. Past lawsuits
n Planning skills – financial development
Ken: Master Plan – can’t produce documents
TIF }
} – Rand Jim explained TIF property tax deferral
ETA }
43D marketing tool
Need process/exp permitting
Fire Chief, Police Chief, Highway Superintendent, Town Administrator – stabilized
Ken #1: Economic development; real estate; improve budget and support tax base
Jim #1: Financial planning management – expense side
Ken: Legal counsel change. In the interim, reappoint or search
Manage and build teams
Jim: Personnel Board dysfunctional – not productive – not up to date.
Salary grade bottom of range
TA’s job/Personnel Director
Grant writer
Number of meetings: every other week with periodic weekly meetings. This year meetings every week.
Roger: Need change maker with wisdom to delegate. People work hard, not smart. Must find person who can encourage and motivate; with ability and courage to make changes where it is within our purview. Small communities are incestuous – aside from all aspects of job – wisdom factor to make change – question delegation – start with goals and meet them – incompletion of time lines. Board needs to follow up. TA is small community – courage, ability and wisdom to make decisions. Forgive co-mission – no tolerance for omission. Maturity to look at total picture – look at alternatives to TA, but people who have experience in town planning, development, for 3-4 years. Question label of TA for everything
we need to look at.
A “pristine, apple-orchard community” must be willing to pay taxes.
Always reactive – now beginning to be proactive
Brief review of business lost last year.
More than anything, TA must feel and buy into changing attitude and be willing to join team as player and decision-maker.
Ken: Fifedoms – end agendas at limited process
Need process manager for Board of Selectmen areas of responsibility
Ø Goals – Selectmen
Ø Master Plan expires 2010
Ø Goals – following year
Ø Challenge
Ø Sidetracked
Roger: Team
Don: Interviews by end of July. It takes 90 – 120 days or more to do them thoroughly.
Ken: Prefers to go quickly to resolution. If there is someone who has an interest, I want to bring them
In.
Don: You can’t interview every candidate and all the skills. Maybe three or four of your/our list are possible candidates. Seasoning and maturity could pose a problem
Roger: Didn’t mean seasoning and maturity. We need to have more discussion. I would rather see the process through. We’re hiring you, Don, to dothe job.
Ken: Reviewed the previous candidate process. Don is to evaluate our market rate for the job.
Jim: Hire someone with experience in segment of our need
Don: Underwrite family meeting; contract/relocate. Will ask Board of Selectmen what dollar figure is for candidate and community. What’s theculture.
Board of Selectmen needs to talk with Don next week for process and profile and challenge statement.
Salary $80,000-90,000 range.
What’s the consequence of extending to 120 days?
Jim: Fee agreement or contract?
Don: Will send fee structure with modifications, depending Board’s decision on evaluation process.
One year guarantee or will do again at no cost.
Roger: The Board needs to further discuss.
Roger: We are anxious to get it done; we eiher buy the process or we don’t. Do we want to and are we willing to follow the process?
Ken: if we have someone in our midst, we should take this exit ramp; we should do that.
Roger: We should not try to alter his processby forcing a compromise; we have to be careful about that.
Jim: One third of searches are modified.
Roger: He has the process; knows urgency – not to preclude the young lady I spoke to a week or so ago; improper protocol.
Jim: If you’re going to hire the woman you’ve interviewed, then don’t waste the Town’s money.
Ken: I support the process – he is professional. He has cautioned us about going outside the process, so we should absolutely follow the process.
Roger: One positive aspect: it takes the Board of Selectmen off the hook with personal bias. The Board of Selectmen will sink or swim on this.
Follow process
Ken: Yes.
Jim: If you’re using this process to circumvent that you’ve already agreed to hire her, then we’re not using this process.
Ken: No. I’ve talked to her but we should follow the process.
Roger: Accept what I say – I was wrong in not following proper protocol.
Jim: Let’s not just go through the process if you have already made your decision.
Ken: I assume the lady is at the top of his list. She might not come here and we’d better be ready with numbers two and three and not have another.
Motion: All in agreement to obtain the services of this “firm” and go through the full recruitment process as presented with ability to shorten process with firm’s recommendation and agreement of qualified consultant.
So moved. All in favor.
Adjourned at 11:07 A.M.
Respectfully,
Suzanne Olsen,
Town Administrator
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