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Date: 1/18/2023
BELCHERTOWN – The Select Board met with the Finance Committee to discuss a capital plan and then determined strategies to strengthen the town administrator position at their Jan. 9 meeting.
The Select Board continued to discuss the upcoming vacancy the town administrator position will have after Gary Brougham’s contract ends in June.
“We have decided we are going to pursue the concept on a town manager so that the person sitting in that chief executive officer chair would have some more authority over day to day routines,” Select Board Chair Jim Barry said.
The Select Board said they want to make an updated list of job descriptions for the town manger so as they conduct their search, the new applicants know what is expected of them.
Belchertown has partnered with Community Paradigm Associates to help with the search for the next town administrator/manager.
Community Paradigm Associates composed a list of recommendations to add to the town administrator position to upgrade it.
Barry said, “Always a key one is appointment authority. Currently the Select Board appoints everyone from the chief of police and patrol units to department head of DPW. Community Paradigm Associates states that often time the Select Board is not a part of this process.”
The board agreed that they will still have appointment power for the four contracted positions in town, police chief, fire chief, town manager and library director.
All other appointments will be up to the next town manager to decide and then announced to the board to remain transparent.
Select Board Vice Chair Ron Aponte added, “The town administrator, town manager is doing all the heavy lifting on the hiring side and the Select Board is saying good job. I think to be consistent we must do the same on the termination side and the town administrator will look at the progressive discipline and decide possible termination.”
The Select Board said that they will have the final say in the termination process in case “the town manager has a bias towards the applicant.”
The next item states that the town administrator will administer the personnel system by dealing with policies and procedures, rules and regulations and personnel bylaws.
Select Board member Ed Boscher said, “It would be up to Town Meeting to dissolve the Personnel Board if we go this route. If we upgrade to a town manager and have a human resources director, I think the function of the Personnel Board is not needed.”
“Belchertown would not need a Personnel Bylaw Commission because that power would reside with the town manager,” Aponte added.
Brougham said, “This would probably be too ambitious to add to this Town Meeting warrant and we would either have to wait a year or hold a Special Town Meeting.”
The third upgrade to the town manager position is that person would have collective bargaining power and be involved with the negotiation of contracts. The town manager would still be required to take direction from the Select Board, who will have the approval of the final contract, in these negotiations.
Another upgrade to the town manager position would be financial management by being responsible to prepare the final budget document present to the Finance Committee.
Barry said, “The budget process belongs to the town manager and the Finance Committee will advise Town Meeting, which is their job.”
Another change with the new town manager position would be the chain of command.
Barry read, “The chain of command should be solidified that operational departments will report directly to the town administrator/manager and develop a communication system so that Select Board liaisons can be eliminated for those operational departments.”
Barry added that the town manager should run the departments in town and used the example that the DPW supervisor should only be receiving one call after a big storm instead of five from each member of the board.
The Select Board next step will be to consider what minimum qualifications they want required for the next town manager.
The Finance Committee then came before the board and said they have designed a plan that includes an input form for any capital expenditures after the next budget cycle.
“We believe this would not be too cumbersome to add to the employees dealing with their budget process each year,” a Finance Committee member said.
The Finance Committee said if this form works, they can add new items and move to the second phase, developing a master form to see a big picture item list of the existing inventory.
Barry said, “This is not a tool of how we are going to fund it but a list of things that we need to find money for.”
The Finance Committee said that this plan will help when the town gets a grant by having list of upcoming expenses, they can use it for.
The Finance Committee has met with Brougham and Town Accountant Jill Rossi to set the current threshold for a capital expense at $50,000.
Boscher added, “I think this is some of the finest work the Finance Committee has ever brought to our attention.”
Brougham said that when he meets with department heads, he will inform them of the new changes.