Date: 8/3/2023
I read the recent letter to the editor by former East Longmeadow Town Councilor Pat Henry titled “Town manager appointment process is troubling.”
But first I will say I have no issue with Mr. Christensen who was appointed town manager. I worked with him on the Charter Review Committee in 2021. He was pleasant, engaged and very knowledgeable of town operations. I have no other experience with him so I will refrain from other comment as he is not the issue.
As Mr. Henry points out, the issue was the process. After Mary McNally submitted her resignation in December 2021, a screening committee of interested town residents was appointed and a consultant hired to begin a search in early 2022. Mr. Henry’s letter mentioned a fear of outsiders. There were two details that support this point and arguably made it unattractive to outsiders.
The job was advertised at an uncompetitive salary, $135,000 plus/minus. The consulting firm the town hired to assist with the search said this was not a competitive salary given the demands of the job, that other towns were offering significantly more money and that there was no deputy manager.
The job required the new manager to be a resident of the town within one year of appointment. This is in the Town Charter. Again, we were advised by the consultant that this was a negative and would reduce the pool of quality applicants. Given the tremendously low supply of homes for sale and sky-high prices, what applicant could take such a risk by selling their home and then not being able to find anything in East Longmeadow? Why impose such a burden on the town manager when other employees including department heads are not required to live in town? Some do, some don’t. This could have been waived by the Town Council as they have for all prior town managers but wasn’t.
Some of the applicants withdrew on their own, others were eliminated due to past behavior that was deemed unacceptable and some were unqualified. The first search ended with no result and a cost of $10,000.
A second search was undertaken later in 2022 by a different screening committee and new consultant with the same salary and residency requirement in place. Again, with no result and a cost of $8,000. Incidentally, the $135,000 advertised salary was the same amount offered in 2019. When the salary is uncompetitive and your choice of where you can live is restricted, it is very difficult to attract quality applicants.
It has been said that the reason residency is a requirement is they want to make sure the person in the town manager role is “fully invested” in the job. The town manager has a yearly evaluation by the Town Council. This is when they demonstrate and are rated on how well she/he does their job. Where they live is not part of it. This seems like an answer in search of a problem.
Town manager is a big job. I do sincerely wish Mr. Christensen success in it.
Andrew Fraser
Chairperson
2019 & 2022 Town Manager Screening Committee
