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To the Editor:
I’m disappointed to hear that the Select Board isn’t renewing the contract of the Town Manager with Board members Haley and Bacci leading the way. Ironically, they strongly supported his hiring just two years ago. I’m concerned that they also seem ready to quickly hire another inside candidate who lacks experience as a Town Manager without doing any search to find the best candidate to lead Reading forward. Let’s not repeat what appears to have been a mistake in hiring an inside candidate who two years later the Select Board has decided is not up to the task. Also, we have an election coming up in less than a month and it would seem appropriate to involve any new Select Board members in the selection of the next Town Manager.
Reading would benefit from a Town Manager who brings a fresh perspective and some outside experience – as the previous Town Manager Fidel Maltez did. Everyone I know thought he was great and the downside was that he was so good that his previous employer hired him back with a big promotion and boost in pay. I believe that in recent years Reading has not been well served by an insular, in-grown perspective that was resistant to progress and innovation prior to Maltez’s arrival.
I strongly encourage the Select Board to spend a few thousand dollars to conduct a thorough search for a new Town Manager. The Town and its residents deserve a proven leader. In addition, a search process would benefit from public participation. Without looking at and vetting multiple candidates, it’s impossible to know if the internal candidate is indeed what’s best for Reading. This is a roughly $200,000 a year job that’s critically important to the future of our community. It would be a wise investment to spend a little time and money searching for the best candidate for Reading. This is what the Select Board should do to exercise due diligence in selecting Reading’s next Town Manager.
On a related note, assuming Reading has an Acting Town Manager while a search is conducted, I do not believe it is wise to provide the Acting Town Manager carte blanche to sign large contracts on behalf of the Town. Review and approval by the Select Board of large contracts seems appropriate and is what past practice and our Town Charter call for. This seems particularly appropriate given that town government recently approved the expenditure of $300,000 on items unauthorized by Town Meeting, the Select Board, the Finance Committee, and the town’s budget. When the bids for the Field House renovation came in $300,000 under the ceiling set by Town Meeting and the budget, that money should have been saved for the taxpayers and not spent.
John Lippitt
Mineral St.
