Stonehamites debate: Why was Town Accountant named Acting Town Admin?
Published on January 31st, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it...
“I’m a team player,” said Town Accountant and soon-to-be Acting Town Administrator Ron Florino. “I want to do whatever is best for Stoneham.”
Selectmen voted 3-1 Jan. 23 to appoint Florino as Acting Town Administrator effective March 3. Town Administrator Jeff Nutting will complete a more than eight year stint in Stoneham on March 2. Last month Nutting accepted a job in Franklin, Mass.
According to all estimates, Stoneham faces budget shortfalls of up to $1.5 million in fiscal 2002 — around $1 million for the schools and the rest on the municipal side. The person in the Town Administrator’s seat will have a lot to say about how Stoneham weathers this economic storm.
Although no one has anything bad to say about Florino, a Bentley College graduate and veteran of the Accounting Department, some Stonehamites were irked by how he was appointed, and others question if he is best for the job.
“People didn’t get a chance to participate... the appointment was not on the agenda,” said former Selectman and candidate for the Board Tony Kennedy.
“Why the haste?” asked School Committee member and Board of Selectmen candidate Mary Pecoraro.
Kennedy, Pecoraro and Franklin Street resident John DeGeorge were the audience for the Jan. 23 meeting.
“It was not on the agenda, not on TV, not before a full board,” DeGeorge said.
“It was on the agenda,” Selectman Darin Leahy said.
Item two on the agenda for the Selectmen’s meeting was “Procedure for Hiring New Town Administrator.”
Leahy said that the above agenda item should have been enough to let people know that the Selectmen planned to do something about the Town Administrator.
“It was on the agenda,” said Selectmen Chairman Pat Jordan, “and we moved within the short time before Nutting leaves to get the guy who knows most about our finances.”
At the Jan. 23 meeting, the procedure for choosing a new permanent Town Administrator was discussed; the Board voted to form a search committee. Leahy and Jordan argue that hiring an acting administrator was implicit in the agenda item. Battles over semantics are nothing new to politics, but some concerns go beyond the Jan. 23 meeting.
DeGeorge said that he dislikes the idea of using a Town employee to act as an interim manager during a budget crunch. Finance Board Chairman Richard Gregorio had voiced the same concern at the Jan. 23 meeting, suggesting that the Town hire a manager from the Mass Municipal Association (this is where Stoneham first found Nutting). Both men said that it’s hard to fire people you work with and know personally. Florino grew up in Stoneham and has worked for the Town for 16 years.
But this is exactly the point, according to Florino.
“I’ll do everything I can not to have layoffs — that’s the last option to balancing the budget,” Florino said.
He said he understands why the Selectmen like to promote from within the Town.
“For someone to come in from the outside and make cuts and not have to live with them, I don’t think that’s fair,” Florino said.
Florino added that in the past many Town officials, including his predecessor, Steve Szabo, have filled in as Acting Town Administrator.
“I don’t like politics... I’d be just as happy crunching numbers behind the scenes, but I believe I’m the best for this job,” Florino said.
Accounting Dept. shuffle
Selectmen will appoint someone to fill Florino’s Town Accountant shoes while he works down the hall in the Town Administrator’s post.
“I am recommending my assistant, Donna Pagliarulo,” Florino said.
Selectmen will vote in the coming weeks.
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