Southbridge Town Council of the Whole - August 25, 2016

Evaluating TheTown Manager's Goals And Objectives

VAPID AND MEANINGLESS...
(for more on this topic see the discussion at Focused On Southbridge)

In Principles of Management by Mason Carpenter, Talya Bauer, and Berrin Erdogan the question is raised “What are goals and objectives?”

The answer of these authors, which is reflective of contemporary managerial thinking, is as follows:

Goals and objectives provide the foundation for measurement. Goals are outcome statements that define what an organization is trying to accomplish, both programmatically and organizationally. Goals are usually a collection of related programs, a reflection of major actions of the organization, and provide rallying points for managers. For example, Wal-Mart might state a financial goal of growing its revenues 20% per year or have a goal of growing the international parts of its empire. Try to think of each goal as a large umbrella with several spokes coming out from the center. The umbrella itself is a goal.

Town Council Secrets

It is interesting that no video exists of the Town Council meeting as a committee of the whole on March 9.

The only item scheduled for public discussion on the agenda for that meeting was the goals and objectives for the Town Manager during 2016.

The agenda for the upcoming meeting on March 21^st does not contain the reading of any minutes from the March 9^th meeting. 

Will The Council Shirk Responsibility Again?

The agenda for the January 6th meeting of the General Government subcommittee contained the following item:

2. Review/discuss Town Manager Evaluation form

.

At the January 11^th meeting of the Town Council, Councilor Carrasco announced that he had minutes for the subcommittee meeting. However, he was still typing them up and they would be reported at a later meeting.

At the January 27^th meeting of the Town Council Councilor Clemence had apparently assumed the chairmanship of General Government in light of Mr. Carrasco’s accession to Council Chair. She reported that she had no minutes and no meeting scheduled. 

San Angelo Interviewed In Brewster

Ken O’Brien

Ronald San Angelo interviewed yesterday for the Town Administrator position in Brewster. Last week San Angelo was offered the position of Town Manager in Southbridge.

Mr. San Angelo, the former mayor of Naugatuck, Connecticut, and a former Connecticut legislator, said he called Southbridge Town Council Chairman Shaun M. Moriarty to let him know that he would be interviewing in Brewster because the process had been months in the works. 

Town Manager Candidate Interviews - June 4, 2015

Why An Ex-Mayor Should Not Be Town Manager

Ken O’Brien

It is no secret to regular readers of The O’Zone that I have long advocated that Southbridge adopt a strong mayor form of government.

I have argued that, given the dire straits in which the town finds itself, such a form of government would be the only means of addressing them. 

Hanson Selectman’s Facebook Postings Raise Questions About Town Manager Choice

Ken O’Brien

Our newly selected Town Manager, Ronald San Angelo, was hired as Town Administrator for Hanson, MA, in 2013. His three year contract is set to expire in 2016 if he is given notice that it will not be renewed by June 30 of this year. If he is not given notice that contract is automatically extended until June 30, 2017.

Mr. San Angelo has been actively seeking other Town Manager or Administrator positions in recent months. He has been in his current position for just under two years. He has at least one year remaining on his current contract. I sought to understand the reason for his seemingly aggressive job search.

Bruce R. Young is one of five selectmen in Hanson MA, and Chatrman of that body. On his FaceBook page Mr. Young posted a few comments over the last month that may shed some light on this conundrum. They are reproduced below unedited by me. The word "edited" in the text appears in the original.  (Those who wish can see the originals HERE.)

Council Selects New Town Manager

The Town Council selected Ronald San Angelo to be the next Town Manager for Southbridge by a vote of 8 to 1. Councilor Monique Manna voted for candidate Daniel Knapick.

The vote came after the Council completed a series of interviews with three finalists that also included Michael Embury in addition to Mr. Knapick.

San Angelo was state representative of Connecticut’s 131st District, which covers Oxford and parts of Naugatuck and Southbury for 10 years until 2002 when he ran unsuccessfully for Secretary of the State in Connecticut. He lost to Susan Bysiewicz. San Angelo, a Republican, then ran for mayor of Naugatuck, defeating current Mayor Bob Mezzo, a Democrat, and third-party candidate Peter Jurzynski. San Angelo then defeated Democrat Curtis Bosco in 2005. 

Regarding A New Town Manager

Ken O’Brien

As the chairman of the last Town Manager Search Committee that resulted in the selection of Christopher Clark, I must compliment the work done by the newest such committee.

They have provided the town with three prospects, any one of whom would appear to be an appropriate choice.

In reviewing the candidates I have not found anything in their backgrounds that would constitute a bar to their assuming the position of our next chief executive officer. 

Southbridge Council Of The Whole Agenda - June 4, 2015

Town Council

Council Of The Whole Meeting

MacKinnon  Council Chambers

June 4, 2015

5:30 PM

Agenda

Southbridge Town Manager Candidates Named

Ken O'Brien

The Restructure Question – And The Cost

Ken O’Brien

At Wednesday night’s meeting of the EHS subcommittee the vote was taken to adjourn thus recommending the budget approved at the prior meeting. The entire video of Wednesday's meeting is provided in the post below.

However, near the end of the meeting Town Manager Paicos addressed the issue of the proposed restructuring of the Middle/High School. In slightly more than two minutes he summarized the underlying logic of the proposal and the associated costs of that action.

Town Manager's FY 2016 Budget Proposal

Insubordination Vs. Intolerance

Ken O’Brien

The Worcester Telegram reports that Southbridge Town Manager Kevin Paicos has directed an independent contractor not to use one of its employees to plow in Southbridge. The prohibition comes following a statement by the employee on his Facebook page.

Derek Julian, an employee of J. Bruso Construction of Southbridge posted the following message on Facebook:

"Way to go town officials at the top of the chain ... make a big mess during the day ... get the towns people all pissed off and screw up traffic drastically ... not to mention hurt the businesses income ... all to 'TRY' and save a $ ... its called night work for a reason ... .and kudos to the department workers for doing the job they did with the mess they had to deal with." 

Resume The Town Manager Search - NOW!

Ken O’Brien

At the April 7^th meeting of the Southbridge Town Council, Councilor Darlene Marcucci announced the suspension of the search for a town manager to replace Christopher Clark. Based upon the advice of the search committee’s consultant, the committee decided that to continue at this point would result in a dearth of candidates because of the pending petition to return the community to a selectmen/town meeting form of government.

In an earlier article I suggested a course of action that would result in delaying the effective date of any adoption of the proposal for at least a year and the date of it actually taking effect for at least two years.

In a comment on the same article I stated that I would put forth a suggestion for dealing with the town manager issue in the interim.

Well, here’s the fulfillment of that promise.

April Fools Again?

Ken O’Brien

For going on four years now I’ve been preaching that the wailing and gnashing of teeth that comes every December when the tax rate is set is pointless.

Once the town budget is approved by the town council the tax rate is effectively set.

It has been shown repeatedly that Southbridge has the highest tax rate of all local communities.

What we hear in response is that the tax rate has to be viewed in relation to the assessed valuation of the properties in the community. We can’t judge simply on the basis of the tax rate because it doesn’t tell the whole story.

In reality that’s what the less politically correct of us call bullshit.

Southbridge Town Manager's FY 2015 Budget Presentation

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot...

Reed Contract Still In Limbo

Ken O’Brien

An article posted tonight on the Worcester Telegram website indicates that the proposed contract between Southbridge and Robert Reed for the latter to serve as Acting Town Manager is still hung up over the issue of a town provided vehicle.

In the article titled “Car clause derails Southbridge town manager contract” Brian Lee reports, “After hitting a roadblock over use of a town-issued SUV, officials continue to negotiate with Robert T. Reed about serving as interim manager for six months, Council Chairman David S. Langevin said Friday.” 

[In another article, Brian Lee reports on the turmoil in the leadership of Southbridge Schools. See “Southbridge facing shake-up among principals”.]