From the Eagle Tribune;
Atkinson to start searching again for town administrator
By Eric Parry
eparry@eagletribune.com
ATKINSON, N.H. — The fourth search for a new town administrator in a year will be underway soon.
Selectman William Bennett said the town is contacting the Local Government Center about a new search this week. The LGC was hired to find the last administrator, Steven Angelo, who left in January after less than five months on the job.
Last month, selectman said they wanted to wait until a new selectman was elected to the board before hiring a town administrator or even an interim.
Bennett, who was elected earlier this month, said officials want to know if they will have to pay the LGC another fee since Angelo's stay on the job was so short.
"I would think the fee paid before would cover another search for candidates," Bennett said.
The decision whether to hire the LGC for the search could be made as soon as next week, he said.
Since Angelo left in January, a temporary administrative employee, Dani Carville, has been helping administrative assistant Barbara Snicer in the selectmen's office.
Angelo was hired in September, but left abruptly, citing difficulty selling his Cape Cod home and a need to spend more time with his family. He was the third person to leave the job in a year.
Former administrator Russell McAllister left in February 2008, to work as a government adviser in Iraq. Craig Kleman was hired in April 2008 as an interim administrator but left last summer to take a similar job in Plaistow. He has since left Plaistow.
Town officials have been relatively tight-lipped about both an advertised salary and Angelo's pay scale. McAllister was earning $58,000 a year when he left the post.
Correction to the Trib, McAllister was making $63,000/yr. when he left! Angelo was making $75,000/yr.!
Atkinson Town Hall
The Norman Rockwellian picture of Atkinson
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28 comments:
The last thing this town needs is another high paid town administrator that selectmen don't know how to oversee.
The qualitys of a good selectman must include knowing how to do their job. If they don't know what, when and how to do it, how can they be sure the town administrator is doing his?
What we really need is a person like the one in this video, not a new town administrator.
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=fY79KbCptTo
With all due respect, the selectmen are by and large, just residents who run for election to do a largely thankless job, that requires a lot of time. If you ask any of the selectmen I will bet they tell you it takes 20-30 hours a week to do the job properly.
They have their own jobs and business' to run, and don't have the time to keep abreast of all the changes in State and Federal law, State filing dates for the MS-1, MS-7, stormwater filings, grant submissions, DRA filings, and all of the wastepaper generally required by the larger bureaucracies.
We were fortunate enough to have an OUTSTANDING first TA, in Vic Richards. He set the bar high, and none of his successors have come close to measuring up.
What we need is someone who knows the state laws, has integrity, and will advise the selectmen impartially. Someone who is not interested in empire building, as Russ was, but who is interested in the TOWN'S BEST INTERESTS!
"The quality's of a good selectman must include knowing how to do their job. If they don't know what, when and how to do it, how can they be sure the town administrator is doing his?"
I wholeheartedly agree with Mark. For what a Selectman is paid, the amount of work involved, and the considerable grief they receive for their efforts, it is a small miracle anyone runs for the office.
There are openings on many town boards begging to be filled. Look at the last election. Not one person ran for the Conflict of Interest board. Disgraceful. Become part of the solution, not part of the problem.
And before the "Why don't you's" start, I've applied for a position. Whether I get it or not is up to the BOS, but at least I'm trying to contribute.
I agree with Mark that the BOS is a thankless job. It's essentially a volunteer position. However, noting the lack of candidates for things such as the budget committee and conflict of interest committee, I have heard that volunteerism went down due to the number of lawsuits. People don't mind giving their time, but they don't want to be sued for it. It's a shame really.
Lawsuits shouldn't be a concern if the person is committed to doing "The Right Thing".
If certain people would simply remove themselves from the public eye considerable improvements could be made to this town.
For instance, Jack Sapia. He's a lawsuit waiting to happen, and is happening. Why he insists keeping himself involved in our affairs is beyond me. He's made a fool of himself time and time again, and put the town at risk in doing so.
If you volunteer for a position, commit to doing the "Right Thing", and it does not constitute a conflict of interest, a fear of lawsuits should not be a worry.
Heck, you face a potential lawsuit every time you get behind the wheel. That hasn't done anything to change driving habits around here.
Forgot to add one thing. People complain about the political establishment in this town. If you are really concerned about this, get involved. Political establishments don't last forever and an influx of new blood can bring needed light into our government. We're where we are because it always the same people running or volunteering for the same positions. The only way to stop that cycle is give the BOS and the voters new, viable, choices.
When you see a ballot and the nobody is running, or running unopposed, don't sit on your a** and complain about it. Step up and be heard.
GET YOUR FACT STRAIGHT! We don't need another high paid Town Administrator who sits in the parking lot on their cell phone most of the time or off who knows where or hiding out in the back room for $75,000 a year. We need a town clerk, a clerk, and nothing but a clerk. The TA considers himself an employee of the BOS not of the taxpayers. Yet taxpayers pay the giant salary. And in recent years, the BOS has not performed well for the citizens and was ill-advised by the TA. A $5,000 fine from the state resulted from McAllister not doing his job and filing timely reports. Good example. The BOS continues to make grave errors in judgment.
March 30, 2009 8:29 PM
Provide facts to support your position and maybe you will establish some credibility.
More informed minds understand you don't leave the day to day affairs of town, city, whatever, to a clerk. The BOS is part time. The town is a business. A clerk is paid minimum wage. Is that what who you want to run things?
You need a town manager...not an administrator. If the town is going to do it right, then they should be "in for a penny and in for a pound". An adminsitrator is nothing but a glorified secretary. You need a manager who can take care of the acutual day to day operations of the town.
Secondly, what does it say about the town as a whole that has gone through so many administrators? Granted, one passed away. And he was a great guy. The second would rather work in Iraq than work in Atkinson. The third guy, the interim, had a history of domestic violence and resisting arrest charges...so great job on the background checks BoS!; and the fourth guy left citing "family and personal" reasons; but I think those who know...know that it had do with much deeper problems and conflicts with certain persons no longer in office.
The bottom line is the town has no direction. There is a faction that want to keep it as it was fifty years ago. And, there is a faction that want the town to start heading into modern times...and no, its not just people that have moved here from other states. Atkinson needs to set a course and decide what type of town it wants to be.
Anyone notice how Atkinson has not yet received or maybe even applied for any Obama stimulus money?
Heck, even with a town administrator selectmen get fined for not filing storm water reports. What makes you think they would file for Obama stimulus money?
We can't afford a town administrator that selectmen only use as a barrier between them and the taxpayers.
We need people that know what they are doing and willing to do the job they sign up for. We don't need or want the town run like it has for the last twenty years. It will be, if Phil is allowed to remain as Police Chief. Elderly Affairs and the Selectmen keep him in office.
Get rid of Phil, then we can talk about a new Town Administrator.
Lets just elect a mayor and get over it.
"Lets just elect a mayor and get over it."
Careful what you wish for. Derry went that route a decade or so ago. It was disaster. Within 3 to 4 years the populace got rid of the position and went back to their previous form of government.
Problem with a Mayor in a town this small is the much smaller pool of qualified candidates, which can quickly lead to an unqualified candidate getting the job. We've seen the damage one of three selectmen can do. Replacing the BOS with a Mayor is about the riskiest thing this town could do.
Reading some of these comments you'd think that the town doesn't function. Roads are maintained, permits issued, inspectors inspect, registrations are processed, trash is picked up, and the crime rate is low. Some people just don't feel right if they're not complaining I guess.
yes and the town's insurance coefficient has tripled because of all the lawsuits. We have selectmen that refuse to deal with the problem, hell, they even refuse to re- appoint him.
So run for selectman. A 40K jump in premiums is alarming, but to put it in perspective, it doesn't impact the tax rate that much. The lions share is to the schools.
HA HA. Only $40K. You pay it then if its such a small price.
I do. We all do. But not that much. What percentage is it of the town budget, and what percentage of our taxes goes to the town? Now don't get me wrong, if you can save 40K here and 40K there, you're starting to talk about real money. Look how much our schools cost us. How much of that is payed by non property owners? If we can ever fix the school funding in this state we'll all see a break in our property taxes. A 40K savings payed across the tax base is peanuts. How much time got wasted at the deliberative session over a $150 line item? It was ridiculous. If the town tax rate is up, it's probably because of stuff we voted for, like a new library.
AND DONT FORGET THE EXTRA 125,000 TO THE CHIEF YOU PEOPLE DONT SEE A FOOT IN FRONT OF YOU YOUR ALL A-- H---- THANK YOU
YOU'RE WELCOME! IT STARTED BACK WITH MY GREAT GREAT GRAND PAPI. HE CREATED THE SECRET SOCIETY OF A--HOLES BACK IN THE DAY. HE THEN PASSED IT DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. I'M NOW A PROUD MEMBER OF THE SECRET SOCIETY OF A--HOLES AND I'M PLEASED TO HAVE MANY FELLOW ATKINSON RESIDENTS AS PART OF OUR SOCIETY. IF YOU'RE WILLING TO LEARN OUR SECRET HANDSHAKE, THEN PERHAPS YOU CAN BECOME A MEMBER TOO!
I just got wind that Phil resigned.
April 1, 2009 3:25 PM
You almost had me,
APRIL FOOLS!
To Anon April 1, 2009 3:26 PM
No April Fool on you, Phil did resign as Chief AND Director of Elderly Affairs Today! Didn't you see all the action at Town Hall Today?
TIME TO CELEBRATE! WHO'S HOUSE IS GOING TO HOST THE PAAAAARRRRRTY?
did he still take home two cars?
Who is the old fart that starts out in that video requesting the signs be be taken down?
Jack told the BOS they were intelligent guys that are doing a FAIR job. How rude.
You have to watch this video.
It sounds like Fred and Jack had this on their agenda.
That old fart is Fred
Go ahead, touch those signs, you are already being sued for taking them down last year.
Let the jury help you understand free speech.
That's your "Chairman" of the Board of Selectman FRED "I don't know what ta hell I'm doing" Childs. Better known as the Chief's puppet. Wants the Blog signs down to protect himself from the lawsuit.
How self serving can a board be, huh?
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