BALLOT QUESTION 5: Elected to Appointed TA

QUESTION 5 ON THE NOVEMBER 6TH BALLOT ASKS RESIDENTS TO APPROVE A CHANGE IN OUR FORM OF GOVERNMENT FROM AN ELECTED TOWN ADMINISTRATOR TO A TOWN ADMINISTRATOR HIRED AND APPOINTED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL.

Although I have advocated for the change in the past, I will be voting to “reject” the proposed #charter amendment as drafted. I believe the proposed charter language is inadequate and voting to approve this change will lead to serious problems.

Over the last several years I have witnessed elected town leaders promote personal and political agendas. I no longer have faith that selection of a hired #administrator by a town council will be based on qualifications. The proposed charter language in Question 5 does little to alleviate my fear that an unqualified political crony will end up being appointed.

The language in Question 5 initially leads one to think there are stringent educational and related work experience requirements that appointees must have; but the reality is those requirements become meaningless by the clause “...or any combination of education and experience that is substantially equivalent”. Undoubtedly, we all could apply different standards when determining what constitutes “substantially equivalent”. Sorry, but I’m no longer willing to surrender my right to vote for a town administrator when the proposed language creates such a wide loophole.

The required composition of the search committee raises another concern. A nine member search committee would be appointed by the town council and consist of two school committee members, a school department administrator, two town #council members, one member of the personnel board and 3 residents. I don’t support the requirement that one third of the search committee be comprised of school department officials. Furthermore, the school administrator isn’t even required to be a town resident. I know of no town charter in RI that has such requirements and for the record, I’d be opposed to language that allowed any other town department to control one third of the votes.

Adapting our Town government to perform more effectively in a changing world can be a good thing, but making changes to our Town Charter should be approached with great caution. Details matter and it’s worth waiting to get it right. I have other concerns with the proposed language but hopefully those that I have shared illustrate that safeguards are needed.

In the meantime, there are things we can do to improve upon the status quo. Let’s start by reviewing the salary for the elected administrator position, something we’d surely have to do under a hired Town Administrator arrangement. It’s been suggested that a competitive salary for a hired town administrator would need to be in the neighborhood of $120,000.

In 2017 there were 134 employees of town departments earning more than the $75,000 salary of the Town Administrator. Offering a more competitive salary for an elected town administrator in the next election cycle may entice more qualified people to run for the position and might be a good first step.

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