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Date: 8/13/2015
LONGMEADOW – The Select Board recently voted to increase Town Manager Stephen Crane’s base salary from $109,500 to $125,000.
Select Board Chair Richard Foster said the salary better represents the recommendations made by the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston during the search process for the position.
Crane began working in the town on April 2, 2013.
“They also made recommendations on salary on what they thought would be appropriate for a town of our size [and] what the salary base should be for a town manager since they were aiding us in the recruitment package,” Foster said. “Their recommendations at that time were a salary range, I believe it was $125,000 to $135,000.”
Prior to hiring Crane, the board was unable to finalize contracts with two other selected candidates – Bourne Town Administrator Thomas Guerino and then-interim Town Manager of North Branford, CT, Bonnie Therrien.
“There was one point where we made an offer to one of the applicants [for] $130,000,” Foster said. “We were unable to come to agreements on the contract. We then took the second [candidate] and then broke off contract negotiations before we even got to the money.”
Guerino opted to stay in his current position and Therrien broke off contract talks to take a position elsewhere.
Three additional candidates were vetted by the board, one of which was Crane.
Crane joined the town after serving as the city administrator to Lancaster, WI, for four years. The town’s population at that time consisted of approximately 4,000 people.
“The board felt that he had the qualifications for a town manager – he hadn’t been tested yet,” Foster said.
Crane’s salary for his first year was $105,000.
Now two years into the job, Crane received a low performance review during his first year and a mixed one during his second, however Foster said Crane’s reviews did not factor into the decision to increase his salary.
Instead, the board examined the going market rate for town managers in three to five other communities similar to Longmeadow, Foster added.
“This did not take into consideration any of the accomplishments that Stephen had done, such as the casino mitigation and some of these other factors,” he noted.
During negotiations for Crane’s three-year contract more than two years ago, there were items from the previously town manager’s contract that were removed, Foster said.
“[Former Town Manager] Robin Crosbie was able to maintain 150 days of sick leave,” he added. “When this contract when out at the board’s direction, that was dropped to 15 days for Mr. Crane. Professional development went from $2,500 with Ms. Crosbie to Mr. Crane at $250. Defined [compensation] - she had $2,500, Mr. Crane had zero.”
Crane also has no car or phone allowance, both of which Crosbie had within her contract, Foster said.
The board did not vote to add any of these items into Crane’s contract during the meeting.
The vote to raise Crane’s salary took place during the board’s Aug. 3 meeting and passed 3 to 1 with 1 abstention. Foster and Selectmen Thomas Lachiusa, and Marie Angelides voted in favor, while Selectman Alex Grant voted against the salary increase.
Selectman Mark Gold chose to abstain from the vote due to what he said was a potential conflict of interest, about which he had spoken with Town Counsel David Martel prior to the meeting.
Gold did not explain the conflict on interest further.
Foster said increasing Crane’s salary is one of the first steps by the board to “reset the clock” regarding the relationship between the board and the town manager.
“I think our original stance of $105,000 was inappropriate,” he added. “There should have been some guaranteed things put in there and they were not.”
In June 2014, Crane’s first two and a half hour performance review devolved into conflict over divisions of power.
Recently, the board voted to hire former Lowell City Manager Bernard Lynch to serve as a facilitator between the board and the town manager regarding discussions of the roles and responsibilities of each party as defined under the town’s charter.
Selectman Alex Grant, who voted against Crane’s raise, said he believed increasing the town manager’s salary in light of his mixed performance review was “not appropriate under the circumstances.”
Crane thanked the board for the adjustment in his salary.
“I think I’ve shown that I’m willing to listen to and internalize some of my deficiencies in areas where there needed to be improvements made,” he added. “I do feel like a lot has been accomplished and my salary has never driven my approach and I do not see that happening now. Whether the wage was fair or market rate or not, I still approached my job with the same level of commitment and passion that I’ve approached every job I’ve ever had and I will continue to do that.”