During Ashland’s time of financial difficulties & search for new Town Manger, former Planning Board Member & Town Govt. Activist Katie Jurcyzk expressed her opinion to our Town leadership. Paraphrasing former Town Manager Michael Herbert before he left: If Ashland doesn’t make drastic moves, the town will be bankrupt within a few years. Katie sent the following email:
“Dear Selectboard,
I offer the following comments concerning the selection of a new town manager:
1. We need to revisit the job description. Since the last hiring of a town manger, there has been significant town hall personnel re-organization and staffing changes. Additionally, when I first came to town, we added an assistant town manager because financial responsibilities were growing. We have since then had many new positions in the financial department and also grown to 2 assistant town manager positions. So, what the exact job/expectations and duties needs to be evaluated and recorded. The lens to view the job description is to make sure it matches what our town needs going forward. Given that our town is having financial difficulties, salary ranges should be in keeping with what makes sense for our town budget. I have often heard that we need to offer larger salaries and/or larger increases to keep up with other towns- in reality over the past few years we have seen people leave for many reasons not having to due with a higher salary and others who did get a higher salary accepted positions with more responsibilities. We need a salary range that works for Ashland’s budget.
2. We need to determine what qualifications will get us the candidates who can provide a match to the job description.
3. The public needs to be involved in the process. Not just for the selection committee, it needs to be from the absolute BEGINNING.
4. I imagine to do the best job of the process, we should also use specialized outside help. Just as the Board sought a specialized labor attorney during the former town managers amended contract for leaving the job, let’s use the professional assistance to help from the start, including at some point for a contract with a new hire.”
– Katie Jurczyk