by Frank Schroth

Last night the Selectmen interviewed 4 candidates for Town Administrator. When they finished Member Sweeney said they had “four talented people” and that it was “time to come forward with a nominee.” Member Hurley agreed, “They all have outstanding credentials.” “It’s going to be very tough,” said member Denis Keohane. Then they decided on a process for what will come next.

Citing a technique used by the School Committee, each selectmen will chose their two top candidates and compare the results. They will do this at their meeting this Thursday with a goal of identifying two finalists. A final decision will be made at their meeting on March 7th. The selectmen each had three questions, 9 altogether, that they asked of each candidate. The candidates were Kevin O’Donnell of Great Barrington, Grady Miller of Naragansett, David Caron of North Hampton, NH, and Annmarie Fagan, Milton’s interim Town Administrator. Each candidate was permitted opening and closing statements.

Hurley’s questions focused on finance: how would candidate cope with Milton’s structural deficit; how would they approach union negotiations, what is their experience with strategic plans. Keohane’s were concerned self awareness: what’s an example of a past experience they would do differently given the opportunity; how would they deal with communications breakdowns, how would they adapt to a town with larger population, budget, etc than town they were coming from. Mr Sweeney asked what fundamental qualities they possessed to perform the job, had they ever been successful in saving the taxpayers money,  and if they would live in Milton should they take the position.

One reason why the decision may be tough is that the candidates were remarkably similar in their experience and answers.

All candidates shared the following:

Substantial experience in municipal administration (ie. 15+ years).

All have saved taxpayers money usually through a consolidation effort or efficiency measure. Ms. Fagan for example cited saving the town $20K by having a shared admin. However, she noted in hindsight that had she to do it over again she would have created a $10K position for the Planning Dept to relieve pressure on Town Planner.

All advocate weekly or biweekly meetings. O’Donnell, Miller, and Caron have implemented it everywhere they have gone. Ms. Fagan restore “core meetings,” a technique she credited to previous town administrator David Coulton.

Three have experience with strategic planning. O’Donnell said he has made it a condition of employment. Ms. Fagan was less experienced in this regard but outlined the process she would follow; identifying a working committee, establishing consensus, and working with the selectmen. All spoke to need of collaboration and viewed the administrator’s position as one of implementing policies identified by Selectmen and goals established via a strategic planning process. “Honesty, integrity, approachable,” Caron said in response to his personal qualities, “[I make] I understand what the issues are and what the limits of my authority are.”

All appeared confident and were direct in their responses. “I’ve got the experience . . . been there, done that .  .  . I think I’d be your man,” said O’Donnell.

All said that their first choice would be to live in Milton if they won the position and expressed enthusiasm about the town. “I am very excited about working in the town,” said Miller, “Based on the research I’ve done, this is a top tier town.”

While Miller, O’Donnell,and Caron all come from recent appointments in towns smaller than Milton all have served in towns equivalent to or larger than Milton. All favored open, honest negotiations with unions in which respective needs were transparent and each gives a little. Ms. Fagan said, “both sides need to compromise and feel like they won something.”

Ms. Fagan spoke to her lack of a college degree stating that her experience and knowledge gained from workshops (e.g. she is a MCAD trained trainer). Selectmen discussed that she completion of her degrees (she has one semester remaining) could be a condition of her employment if she is awarded the position. In her closing remarks Fagan noted that she could hit the ground running given her experience in town hall. This is one key difference. Ms Fagan has experience in Milton. The others do not. The others have broader experience in a variety of towns and would bring a fresh perspective. Fagan wouldn’t. Whether the selectmen view this dimension  as a positive of negative is unknown.  The issues remain the same: open communication, priority setting, attention to detail. All seem to possess those qualities. This Thursday the selectmen will take the next step. They expressed their gratitude to the search committee (Mary McNamara, Kevin Keating, Bill White, and Leroy Walker) for the hard work they put in coming up with these 4 candidates.