HomeMy Public PortalAbout05-14-2013 Personnel_Minutes_201305010928244378Town of Watertown
Town Council Committee of Personnel & Town Organization
Report of the Meeting of April 17, 2013
Report Date: April 23,2013
The Committee convened on April 17, 2013 at 7:30 pm in the Town Council office.
Present at the meeting were: Susan Falkoff, Chair, Cecilia Lenk, Vice Chair, and
Steven Corbett, Secretary. Also present were Town Council President Mark Sideris,
Councilor Vincent Piccirilli, Town Manager Michael Driscoll, Town Auditor Thomas
Tracy. Residents Ernesta Kraczkiewicz and Deborah Peterson attended.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Draft Report Relative to the
Organization of the Town of Watertown, Massachusetts prepared by the Collins
Center for Public Management (attached) and received by the committee after we
last met. The purpose of the Collins study was to analyze the organization of the
Town Administration and make recommendations on how to best change its
structure to increase efficiency and share some of the Manager's responsibilities
with other town officials..
The Committee agreed that the Collins report did not achieve what the Town
needed. In particular, it was never the goal of the Town Council or Administration to
add an additional layer of administration. In earlier discussions with the Collins
Center, the Committee had raised this issue and had given them an opportunity to
change their recommendations.
Councilor Falkoff presented an alternative structure for the Town Administration (a
revised version is attached). Council President Sideris noted that any change in the
Auditor's position would require a Charter change. The Manager requested that the
Committee postpone discussion of the Finance reorganization following the full
financial management review now being conducted by the Commonwealth's
Department of Revenue.
Following discussion of Councilor Falkoff's proposal, the Committee voted
unanimously that it was the sense of the Committee that this proposed
reorganization was the direction in which we wanted to go, specifically that the
Town Manager should appoint existing key senior managers to take on additional
managerial responsibilities and be compensated by stipends.
The next steps are to get input from the financial management review and the Public
Works study. Both of these reports are expected in May.
The meeting adjourned 8:15 pm
Submitted by
Cecilia Lenk