Westport News

Members present:        Steven J. Ouellette, Chairman  
                                  David P. Dionne, Vice Chairman   
                                  Veronica F. Beaulieu
                                  J. Duncan Albert
                                  Robert P. Rebello, Clerk

Also present:            Charlene R. Wood, Town Administrator

Chairman Ouellette called the Board of Selectmen meeting to order at 4:08 p.m. in the Westport Town Hall, 816 Main Road, Westport, MA with the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Note:  Mr. Rebello arrived at the meeting at 4:33 p.m.

Tax Classification Hearing
The Tax Classification Hearing was opened at 4:09 p.m. with Mr. Ouellette reading aloud the Public Hearing Notice.
Mr. Steve Medeiros, Board of Assessors, stated that the recommendation would be to stay at the single rate with no shift.  The present rate is $5.25 per thousand.  The average home value is $397,560.00, with values having gone up.  New growth will be done next year and home sales are down.
Motion made by Mr. Dionne to stay at the single rate for tax classification.  Second by Ms. Beaulieu.  The Board voted 4 in favor; 1-absent (Rebello).

Town Administrator Position Interviews
4:25 p.m.
Allan C. Klepper was the first candidate to be interviewed. (see attached resume)
Mr. Klepper stated that he was used to dealing with the Town of Westport through the Town of Rehoboth as Executive Secretary.  Mr. Klepper said that he has served on Town Counsel in Barrington, RI and is now the Town Moderator.  Mr. Klepper stated that he has a passion for small government; and he has had positive feedback regarding his past positions. Mr. Klepper said that his biggest accomplishment was the largest TIF in Uxbridge, MA for BJ’s Wholesale; part of the TIF was a waterline deal.  Mr. Klepper stated that in Uxbridge, he was a Town Manager who handled budgets and personnel, while in Hopedale, he was a Town Coordinator but functioned as a Town Administrator, having to pull everything together. Mr. Klepper’s philosophy is if the system is working, great; if you run into problems, fix them.  Mr. Klepper stated that he finished employment in Uxbridge in November, 2005 and then went to Sutton, which ended in June, 2006; while in Uxbridge he was responsible for 240 employees, excluding the School Department, and in Sutton there was 180 employees, as for Hopedale, he is not sure of the exact amount of employees.  Mr. Klepper said that he is successful as a lead or the person behind the lead regarding collective bargaining and negotiations; he has resolved problems to the benefits of the Towns of Sutton and Uxbridge.  Mr. Klepper stated that he would rather see overtime applied than to add an employee to the payroll, due to the fact of it being short-term.  Mr. Klepper said that he has done a number of Chapter 61A matters but no APR’s.  In Uxbridge, Mr. Klepper was appointed to, in addition to being Town Manager, the Zoning Board of Appeals, Planning Board and Conservation Commission.  Mr. Klepper said that he uses email constantly throughout the workday.  Mr. Klepper said that his greatest accomplishment in his present position has been resolving labor issues, especially dealing with health insurance.  As for experience with grants and obtaining them, Mr. Klepper has very modest experience.  Mr. Klepper has received on his own some grants and has worked with the Library but for the most part, his strength lies in working with department heads and guiding them in obtaining grants.  Mr. Klepper said that in all four towns that he has worked for, he has dealt with Kopelman & Paige as Town Counsel.  Mr. Klepper stated that he attends the MMA Annual meetings and he encourages his Selectmen to do so also.  Mr. Klepper said that he has been involved in hiring employees in different towns, to different extents.  Mr. Klepper felt that the Town Administrator’s position is a position of a conscience to the Board of Selectmen; as for past practice, it should not be followed, if it was not the right thing then, it is not the right thing now and should be discontinued.  Mr. Klepper said that he was comfortable with dealing with Chapter 30B, even though it is complicated and he has completed RFP’s.  When questioned how he would handle an emergency situation, Mr. Klepper stated that was what Emergency Management was created for.  Mr. Klepper felt that his goal as Town Administrator was as a facilitator, to make everything work harmoniously and to provide the equipment needed to do that.  Mr. Klepper said that he has dealt with Muni Legislation and believes that government should take the lead in energy conservation.  Mr. Klepper stated that he has no plans to retire just yet, so long as his health stays good; he felt that as long as he could make a contribution, he would be staying in local government.
Interview concluded at 5:27 p.m.

5:30 p.m.
Michael J. Hartman was the second candidate to be interviewed. (see attached resume)
Mr. Hartman stated that presently he was the Town Administrator in Wareham, MA.  Mr. Hartman stated that Mr. Dionne was correct in saying that he will no longer be in that position as of March, 2007 due to a 3 to 2 vote by the Board of Selectmen not to renew his contract.  Mr. Hartman described his style of management as a more hands off approach; he felt that people were in place to do certain jobs.  Mr. Hartman said that he does meet with the department heads to see where they are and where they are heading.  Mr. Hartman said that he prefers to act as a resource rather than a director.  Mr. Hartman’s major achievement was creating new zoning for businesses and an overlay district to create a funding stream, due to the area being largely agricultural.  Mr. Hartman stated that Wareham has a Charter, which spells out the duties of the Administrator, along with Town Bylaws and the Administrator also adheres to the Board’s wishes.  Mr. Hartman said that his role as Town Administrator is to be the number one defense for the Board of Selectmen; an administrator should have a marked presence in the Town. Mr. Hartman said that he has handled collective bargaining and negotiations with success; he was the director of labor relations in Medway; he has handled the budget process without the Board of Selectmen due to the Charter in Wareham.  Mr. Hartman said that his strengths are 25 years in local government and 5 years in state government; he believes in public service and is a good judge of people.  Mr. Hartman said that his weaknesses are the fact that he is impatient and lacks in the communications area.  Mr. Hartman stated that he has experience in dealing with contracts, both with and without Town Counsel.  As for experience in economic development, Mr. Hartman said that Wareham now has the authority to have a department head that will handle economic development with oversight from the Town Administrator. Mr. Hartman said that he has handled TIF’s.  Mr. Hartman stated that he would put in the necessary amount of hours it takes to get the job done; he normally sees people on an appointment basis.  Generally, Mr. Hartman said that he attends Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee meetings.  Mr. Hartman said that he is very familiar with procurement laws, IFP’s, RFP’s and was certified as MPPO.  Mr. Hartman stated that he does attend the annual MMA meetings and is a member of the ICMA (International City Management Association).   Mr. Hartman has done aggregation for electrical services and has piggy backed with the School Department for natural gas.  Mr. Hartman said that if he is considered for the Town Administrator position, he could start sooner than his March leaving in Wareham.
Interview concluded at 6:00 p.m.

Discussion
Motion made by Mr. Dionne to remove Chawner Hurd from the list of candidates.  Second by Mr. Rebello.  The Board Voted Unanimously in Favor.

1) Background checks will be conducted on the remaining applicants.
2) A check will be done with the Police Chief for any information that he has gathered.

Motion made by Mr. Albert to adjourn the Board of Selectmen meeting at 6:20 p.m.  Second by Mr. Dionne.  The Board Voted Unanimously in Favor.

Adjournment.

Respectfully submitted,
Diane Pelland, Confidential Clerk
to the Board of Selectmen

APPROVED:                            
Robert P. Rebello, Clerk