The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff of this newspaper.
(April 28, 2019) — Periodically the Town of Haddam has the opportunity to review its charter and make any changes that seem appropriate. While change for the sake of change is not appropriate, one important change is up for reconsideration yet again. A strong case for going to a Town Manager form of government was made in the late 1990s, but was defeated. It was a good idea then and should be adopted now during the current charter revision.
A town manager is an individual hired, not elected, to run the day-to-day business of the town and deal with many of the issues which are now attempted to be addressed in the often politically contentious Selectmen’s meetings. Properly hired, a town manager is a proven, ethical professional, with good people skills, trained in running the affairs of municipal government and experienced, quite possibly as an assistant in another larger town. Working with department heads, he or she makes the day to day decisions involving bonding or purchasing highway maintenance equipment and the hundreds of other matters that regularly come up. He or she does so, overseen on a regular basis by an elected board of selectmen, or a town council but is not particularly subject to the petty wrangling that so often occurs in small-town politics.
The number of citizens qualified to run a town such as Haddam who are retired or can take time away from another, more stable job to take on a two year commitment is very small. The number willing to do so is even smaller and then, with all respect, it’s doubtful that they have much experience in the administering of town affairs. With a qualified town manager in place, the elected, overseeing board can meet less regularly and be open to a greater range of citizenry including those with more demanding day jobs. Further those board members can operate in the long-term interests of the town unfettered by the day to day decisions such as what snow plow to buy.
Dianne and I grew up in the town of Tolland. We have recollections going back over fifty years, before there was a town manager, of one selectman claiming loudly that another selectman needed to go to jail. This didn’t happen, but eventually, sick of the incessant wrangling the town hired a town manager at a salary which caused yet another public furor but eventually proved to make town affairs much calmer. For example when he went over the bonding arrangements, the savings he made paid his annual salary several times over. He stayed in the job for over two decades, then was replaced by the current town manager.
Tolland is bisected by I-84 about 20 miles Northeast of Hartford and is on the road to UConn, so it has been hit by a population bomb and is very different from the town Dianne and I remember. Yet in spite of the population rise, and in spite of the fact that there is no “golden goose” in the form of a dramatic source of revenue in its tax base, Tolland is clearly a thriving town.
The hiring of any town manager has to be a careful process, done by a blue-ribbon committee able to judge fairly and avoid the hiring pitfalls. There is a pool of ethical, professional town managers, any of whom might be willing to come to Haddam. Among the applicants however there probably would be those whose personal standards are lacking, and who could be influenced by favors and bribes. Others might be willing to “work cheap” at the cost of running the town poorly. The temptation to hire cheap and therefore incompetent or crooked candidates must be guarded against.
If Haddam changes to the town manager form of government and hires well, it will remove small-town politics and petty wrangling from the day to day operation of the town. It could also open the board of selectmen to a wider range of qualified citizens who, working thoughtfully, on a less intense schedule and volunteer basis, would be better able to address the long-term interests of Haddam,
Jim McHutchison
Haddam Neck, CT
Haddam Neck, CT
Wasn’t the current school superintendent “hired”?
Jim, I have the upmost respect for you and your opinion. On this issue I could not disagree with you more. I can not see radically changing our way of governing because of one term of contentiousness. Please note that the majority ruled in every way.
I’m sure you know Bob McGarry, the announced candidate for First Selectman, I serve with him on the Board of Finance and know he will be a fine Selectman and business manager as well!
A friendly reminder that the subject of a town manager came up during the recent Charter Change Commission and was defeated.
Mark, that respect goes both ways and I believe that the best ideas are forged from varying perspectives.
My conviction regarding the town manager form of government comes not from the current foolishness that plagues Haddam’s selectmen’s meetings. It comes instead from occasional dealings with towns during my years as a heavy equipment salesman. In towns with a manager, win or lose, dealing was generally much easier because they were better organized and freer of political or corrupt influence. Also I learned from Bob Stimolo who worked so hard in the late ‘90s to get Haddam to make the change.
You are entirely correct about Bob McGarry. Not only is he a good friend and neighbor, he is also a US Coast Guard Academy graduate and a retired career Coast Guard Commander. He has served the Haddam Neck community well and simultaneously as Fire Chief and as Vice President of the Haddam Neck Fair. There is no question that he can be an excellent First Selectman with or without a town manager. The advantage of the town manager is the continuity and experience which comes with a career position, not subject to the uncertainty of having to be reelected every other year.
Bob McGarry would be a dream boss for any town manager and Haddam would be making better use of Bob’s time as Selectman.
Jim McHutchison