Town of Princeton, Mass. – May 21, 2015 -- 1:30 PM
Interviews for T.A. Minutes - BOARD OF SELECTMEN
1:35 PM The meeting was called to order in the Town Hall Annex. Present were Chairman Edith Morgan, Stan Moss, Jon Fudeman and interim T.A. Robert Reed.
Bob R. recommended a standard procedure of choosing from a list of questions and asking each candidate the same questions, to rate and compare them with each other. Selectmen discussed the standard questions and didn’t favor most of them, preferring to craft their own questions. Jon F. suggested a reverse approach, asking applicants to describe the job and outline what are the best qualifications for the job.
Mickey Splaine of Princeton, who is asst. bridge engineer for MassDOT, was up first. He outlined what attracted him to the job; he’d offer stability and promised to retire from the job. He had several letters of recommendation to present but selectmen pointed out that they already had those materials in hand. The group briefly discussed military service and its advantages in the working world. He described how state offices operate and how group decisions are the standard procedure.
The questions selectmen settled upon were: what is the difference between ‘leadership’ and ‘management,’ and which does Princeton need? They also wanted to know how applicants would prioritize items in capital spending when there are competing interests and demands; conflict resolution; grants; and how to maintain the town’s good bond rating and continue to stay under the levy limit with taxes. Mr. Splaine noted that he has been on the receiving end of grant submissions and knew what agencies wanted to see.
Nina Nazarian of Fitchburg, who is Asst, T.A. in the Town of Tyngsborough, was in next. Selectmen asked her the same questions in general. She answered an H.R. question about conflict resolution by citing a situation she had dealt with at her job that morning, which involved union employees and task assignments. The group talked about fiscal issues and state funding.
4:30 PM Selectmen decided to postpone two other agenda items to their next meeting, and recessed until 6 PM for the final interview.
6 PM Selectmen reconvened and met with third candidate Heather Budrewicz of South Hadley, who is T.A. in the Town of Southhampton. When asked why she was interested in the position in Princeton she gave her background experience and explained that she also wanted to be closer to her volunteer interests in central Mass. She established a finance and free cash policy for the Town of South Hadley and described her relationships with the School Department and the Board of Selectmen. She said that she was a high energy person who was good at the multiple demands of the job and at “firefighting”. She described her career path and where she planned to be in five and ten years.
After interviewing Ms. Budrewicz the Board decided that it had been a long day and any discussion or evaluation of the candidates or any other business would wait for a subsequent meeting. They will do a second follow-up meeting Tuesday, which was previously posted.
7:25 PM Adjourn
Respectfully submitted, Marie N. Auger, administrative assistant; Interim T.A. Bob Reed.
BOS Referenced Documents: List of T.A. candidates; reference materials
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
978-464-2100
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