At the last selectmen meeting, there was a candidate for the Templeton Town Administrator position, back for a third time. None of the selectmen present left for conflict of interest reasons and the interview was recorded. There was also discussion concerning rolling over vacation time and the discussion centered around 8 individuals. Apparently 6 of those met some sort of policy requirement and two did not. During the discussion, some things posed by the selectmen and the town administrator were "they did this for us" and "we do not want to lose long time employees" and other things said as if to show concern for the town employees.
As I sat there, I wondered what happened to that care when it came to long time town employee Bud Chase, former highway superintendent. Did not seem there was much concern for his years of service, no matter where you stood with regards to thoughts on that employee. Where was the concern? Apparently that concern may be like the rules and such, some show but not much go, in my opinion.
There was mention of legal budget perhaps being short and needing a transfer, which will likely be in front of the Advisory Committee at their next meeting. There was a point made about legal costs, that there was no plan to have Town Counsel at Town Meeting until concerns of the Moderator were aired and then a candidate for employment may be filing suit against the Town.
Selectmen still making moves, moving funds around, doing this and that stating in an effort to reduce costs, all the while using a revenue number (dollar figure) that is unrealistic. If the school project begins this year, sometime, then in a year or two, perhaps three, we may see the need for some real financial creativity. Which may turn out to be a few more cups to move the pea around. Since policy and budget is the realm of the selectmen, that should be interesting.
posted by Jeff Bennett
Lee, Lenox approve agreement to share town administrator [1]
June 2, 2017
Christopher KetchenBeginning on July 1, Christopher Ketchen will serve as the chief administrative officer for both Lenox – his current employer – and Lee.On May 11, Lee Town Meeting approved a three-year shared services agreement that had also been approved by the Lenox Board of Selectmen in March. Under the agreement, the towns will split Ketchen’s $110,000 salary – the same as what he receives now as Lenox’s town manager.
The towns will hire a shared assistant chief administrative officer, who will focus on human resources.
“We’re not hiring a human resources director per se,” Ketchen said. “It’s actually a full-blown assistant position that will act as the CAO in the CAO’s absence and be fully empowered in that regard. Human resource management will be the primary responsibility, and we’re looking for someone with that background to be the assistant.”
While the agreement is for a three-year pilot, the board of selectmen in each town will take a vote in mid-April each year on whether to continue the pilot, Ketchen said. If, after three years, the towns decide to continue the arrangement, the appropriate special legislation and charter change will go before the town meetings in the two towns to make the arrangement permanent.
Ketchen said the arrangement is intentionally flexible, and that he plans to spend most of July in Lee to familiarize himself with the town. That said, the expectation is to split his time evenly between the neighboring towns.
“At first my main office will be here in Lenox Town Hall,” he said. “I’ll be spending substantial amounts of time in Lee, but working out of this office. But I might be in my Lenox town hall office working on Lee work.”
While there are cases in Massachusetts where town administrators work part-time in more than one town, Ketchen said he believes this agreement is different.
“These are two towns that have come together to share two full-time jobs and have sort of joint administration of government between the two towns, while maintaining their identity by having their own select boards and town meetings,” he said. “It’s a shared administration, not just the same person doing multiple part-time jobs. It sounds like it’s only a minor distinction, but I think it’s profound.”
Ketchen, a member of the MMA Board of Directors, said he hopes the agreement, if successful, can serve as a model for other communities, particularly those in the Berkshires with declining populations that face similar circumstances.