Residents Question Need for Town Manager
Public hearing discussion centered on the proposal to hire a professional town manager.
Videos
The Charter Revision Commission (CRC) held its second public hearing Thursday night at Whisconier Middle School (WMS) to outline their initial findings and recommendations before submitting them to the Board of Selectmen (BOS) for a town wide vote in November. While the Commission proposed several changes to the Town Charter, the focus of the hearing was a recommendation to hire a professional town manager to take over the administrative duties of the first selectman.
Under the current CRC proposal, the town would still function under the Town Meeting system, in that residents would retain their current powers under the charter, and would keep the BOS as the legislative body, led by the first selectman, however the town manager would oversee the day-to-day operations.
Though it is not under the purview of the charter and the CRC, the Commission also recommended that the BOS, including the first selectmen, be unpaid, volunteer positions.
The Commission invited Mansfield Town Manager Matthew Hart, who works in conjunction with a Town Council form of government, and Bolton Administrative Officer Joyce Stille, who work with a board of selectmen, to speak about their positions and answer questions from the public. [Watch their full presentation in the attached videos.]
Of the 50 residents in attendance, the majority of those who expressed an opinion on hiring a town manager were against the idea.
“To say that we’re going to continue the Town Meeting form of government but we’re not going to be electing the person running the town on the day-to-day basis is an oxymoron,” Matt Grimes said. “In the Town Meeting form of government the voters have the final say, they can check the board of selectmen… The voters should decide when it’s time for new blood.”
A town manager, as Hart explained, would be an at-will employee, meaning that the BOS would have the discretion to terminate the manager at any time, with cause.
“All you need is to have the votes and it needs to be done within the terms of the contract,” he said.
Grimes also offered the Commission research showing that voter participation tends to wane after towns adopt a Town Manager format, typically dropping from mid-40 percent to the low 20s.
“We need to be doing things that increase participation,” he said.
“I think we have enough talent in this town and enough intelligent people to run this town by ourselves,” David Frankel offered, adding the current economic climate as a factor, as well. “If we could find a volunteer town manager, I might have a different opinion of it, but the town is operating quite well as it is.”
Resident Pamela Kurtz suggested that it is the various town department heads that are responsible for the day-to-day management of the town’s affairs and that the first selectman is merely the conduit for that.
“If the heads of the individual departments, which have very specific tasks in town, are competent and running their departments efficiently, I don’t understand why we need another layer,” she said. “The town should be able to run whether or not there is a first selectman… The function of the first selectman is basically to oversee and coordinate with the heads.”
“I can see a lot of the pros and cons of a Town Manager form of government,” Bob Belden said, however, “You don’t change your form of government unless there is a burning bridge; you don’t stepwise change government just because it’s a good idea — there better be a good reason.”
Belden contended that the town has been well represented by its first selectmen since the Town Charter was adopted in 1975 and asked the CRC to comment on the question of ‘why now?’
Commission member David Propper offered that the town was “treading water,” rather than watching a bridge burn, “and I think this town can do better,” he said.
Propper said that before he began researching the position, he was unaware that there were college degrees in public administration specifically oriented to professional management of municipalities.
“We already do have the functionality of a town manager, it’s called the first selectman,” he said. “I’d rather have that done by a professional,” with a professional education.
Others were in favor of the proposal, such as resident Chris Lynch, who said he has seen the Town Manager style work well in a number of towns and counties in New Jersey and New York.
“Hands down, without question municipalities that are run by town managers are run more efficiently and professionally,” he said. “It allows the CEO of the community [first selectman] to manage from more of a macro level rather than being in the trenches. A professional administrator is just that, a professional administrator.”
While many of those who expressed an opinion were in opposition, the majority of comments were questions of procedure and delineation of duties.
Jerry Friedrich suggested that the town put off amending the charter to include a town manager and instead “try it out and see if it works for the town,” as “once it’s in the charter it will be mandated” and difficult to overturn.
The CRC will continue to meet twice a month to finalize their recommendations and asked residents to continue giving their input, either at the regular meetings through the Commission’s email (CRC@BrookfieldCT.gov).
Steven DeVaux
1:19 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
"Treading water"? Sounds like a condemnation of the last few First Selectmen - Davidson, Silvaggi & Murphy over that last decade. Treading water sounds like the political parties in town are failing to nominate good First Selectmen that can move the town forward. Instead it appears the political parties over the last decade have spent all their time maintaining the status quo.
The last thing the town needs at this juncture is more overhead. If people can't do the job, they should be counciled to resign and make an opening for someone who can, wants and is able to do the job, Towns twice the size of Brookfield are using our current form of government successfully.
This sounds exactly like CONGRESS and one of their patch jobs that attempts to treat, but not cure the problem by throwing tax money at it.
Cure the problem iin Brookfield by electing a competent, effective and motivated member of the town who does not have a personal agenda and everything would get better quick.
Ryen
5:34 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
OK. So, Bill Davidson (along with his cronies & those he informally consults with) has realized that he is incapable of doing a good job with the issues confronting the town. In particular, he has no true "VISION" for the Four Corners--what'lll become the new "Town Center". The "pro-education-at-ALL-cost-and-ANY-cost" coterie hobknobs with Davidson(a renegade Republican supposedly turned Dem) & sees Davidson as one of their "Saviours"--although we should recall that Davidson's re-election was so very thin--recall the expression "razor thin"? -- well, Bill Davidson's "mandate" isn't a mandate at all, but a THINNER THAN A RAZOR thin happenstance! Just a chancy victory due to a very few resident's mood with regard to voting that one day. We easily could have a whole different First Selectman right now. But, I meander. Back to the point: Bill Davidson & the education coterie, the liberals in town, and so on--they KNEW they were in over their heads & they decided BEFORE the election that we need to get a Town Manager & make government bigger & more expensive in Brookfield to pay the top-heavy education bills and benefits. In Bill's thoughts: we need someone to do this job that he is unwilling and unable to do--while he gets paid to "oversee" it from afar. (to be continued in next posts)
Ryen
5:44 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
(This comment continued from last post) Yes, Silvaggi couldn't do it--but he was also hopelessly fighting entrenched mud-slinging, ill feelings or ill-will, & the personal buffetting of Murphy/Parks--who left because THEY were UNABLE (if very willing! ;) to do these jobs. Sad for Brookfield that the wacky "education-at-all-costs-even-to-ransom-the-town-until-doomsday" & the "let's make some more trashy or loopy economic development decisons"just to PAY for the education budget & bad decision-making round about--that these groups have NO VISION (most of them are parrots quacking: "Raise up the education budget 2-3-4% EVERY year!")--who cares about the economy, accountability or taxes?? (Just ask Dr. Appleby, if you don't believe me--he has facts & figures that are downright scary!) Will Brookfield make a huge quantum leap in increasing government bureaucracy& PAY this way to permanently change this town in the direction of ever increasing government/education budgets & development?? That's one risk in going this Town manager route. But, due to a lack of VISION & frustration & fear (he BARELY got re-elected this time! BARELY! ;), a lack of ability by Davidson & these flocks of education "parrots" (spouting off the last "talking points" of a core group of "personal-agendized" liberal)s--due to this ongoing problem, Brookfield's going to a new level of hiring someone to do the Frist Selectman's job so he can spend time chasing a vision (a dream?) & skills he doesn't have.
Ryen
5:52 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Is that REALLY what Brookfield wants? To keep going this direction and potentially ruining the next phase of Brookfield's history? Does Brookfield want to become another quasi-Bethel--WITHOUT the Town Center "character" that at least Bethel has??? What do people not see about all this faulty development to cover up education budgets that are out of control and beyond accountability today (not just here but all over the country!)?? To cover up inept town government leadership pushed around by the real estate coterie in town for DECADES? Where is Brookfield going? Is ANYONE able to be honest and have any perspective on this sad state and direction? Yes, a Town Manager will solve these problems....ummmmmmm.....not necessarily so. This is just a slick "smoke-and-mirrors" the - hand - is -quicker - than - the - eye way to support ever increasing education budgets lacking accountability aspects AND inept government leadership AND excessive development and chasing tax dollars that damage the town with NO VISION and NO HONESTY here..... These are sad days for Brookfield, indeed. Brookfield has been heading down a road no for a couple decades from which there is no return and no "do-over"--at least not for decaades more, if ever.
Ryen
5:59 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
And just to be sure: this Town Manager thing IS all about lack of willingness and lack of skill and lack of vision by the First Selectman and his loose group of "supporters". This Town Manager is the ADMISSION by the Twon Manager and the Democrats that: We have no true VISION, we have no true CREATIVITY (this first selectman has no creativity--believe me!), we have no ABILITY (to do the Four Corners changes and run the town and fight for ever-increasing budgets--all at the same time...)....we just cannot do all this without someone (a new Town Manager) actually running the town while we play.... My lord: look at kid's kingdom and the high school renovations!! Significant improvements that were RUN well and are actually better for the buck???? You tell me....
Ryen
10:29 pm on Saturday, January 28, 2012
CORRECTION: in the above post: it should read: "...ADMISSION by the First Selectman (Davidson) that his loosely knit-group of Democrat supporters that: they have no TRUE vision and creativity...."
jamrsr
10:16 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012
Was unable to make the meeting and have a simple question - how would this position be paid for?
Ryen
10:27 pm on Saturday, January 28, 2012
It would be a permanent, salaried, civil service position with benefits and retirement and all. Paid for by tax dollars, like the head of Public Works or Parks and Rec. It is basically hiring an equivalent of a Superintendent of Schools, but to run the town. The only catch is that the person would serve "at the pleasure of the Selectmen"--who are supposedly for the townspeople....though it is harder and harder to see that these days....
Steven DeVaux
6:55 am on Monday, January 30, 2012
Jamrsr,
Why your tax money of course. The current crew just want the political power, not the headaches that come with actually doing the job they are being paid to do.
Steven DeVaux
8:43 pm on Saturday, January 28, 2012
I think it's very telling when long established businesses in Brookfield such as McCaffrey Realtys suddenly run to Danbury and merge with Coldwell Banker there. What do they know about Brookfield that everyone else doesn't and don't say nothing. They were in this town for a long time and were once an integral part of the community. Perhaps she's running for David Scribner's seat?
Alan Walp
5:39 pm on Thursday, April 19, 2012
Our Board of Ed Super takes 178,000. If the reason for this is to run the town more efficiently, will we save at least that much in efficiencies by paying another 'professional' ?