Tax Increase Proposals Will Immediately Be a Focus of New Town Administrator
An operating override for the Town's and Schools' budget as well as a debt exclusion for the Pierce School renovation will both test voters' tolerance for tax increases.
On Tuesday, July 12, the Select Board will conduct public interviews of the three finalist candidates for Town Administrator:
Meanwhile, the May 25 Minutes of the School Committee’s Finance Subcommittee include the following:
(The Fair Share Amendment is a proposal to increase MA state income taxes on high earners).
In addition, the Wednesday, July 13 meeting of the Pierce School Building Committee will include a project cost update and a possible vote to approve the total project budget:
The Town Administrator candidates’ package from search firm Community Paradigm Associates includes the following summary biographies:
Charles Carey began serving as a Managing Consultant with Guidehouse, LLP in its State and Local Government Practice in April of this year upon relocating to the Boston area. He previously served in a variety of roles in the NYC Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations. Most positions were related to legal services, but he did serve as Acting Director from August of 2021 through February 2022. He also served as Special Counsel to the NYC Health and Hospitals. Mr. Carey previously held positions in private practice with a firm in New York, as a Law Clerk in a Federal District Court and in the NYC Law Department. He holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, an M.F.A from Warren Wilson College and a B. A from Columbia University.
Jennifer Dopazo Gilbert has served as a Managing Partner with the Law Office of Robert L. Allen. Prior to joining the firm in 2013 she worked for the Town of Brookline in the Office of Town Counsel for sixteen years, including eight years as Town Counsel. Additionally, Ms. Gilbert served as an Adjunct Professor at Suffolk University in the Moakley Center graduate program for Local Government Leadership and Management. She holds a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and a B.A. from Boston College. Ms. Gilbert has advised me that she has, to be cautious to all parties, consulted with the State Ethics Commission to discuss potential conflicts related to her legal work on behalf of clients and related to a stepson that serves as a Brookline firefighter. She has been advised that neither should be a problem in serving in the Town Administrator position, but that she should provide a written disclosure to the Select Board relative to her interaction with the Firefighters’ union.
George Ramirez has, since 2021, served as the Executive Director of the Lawrence Partnership, an economic development and community engagement organization in the City of Lawrence. He previously served as the Vice President of Operations of the National Aviation Academy in Concord, MA; MassDevelopment Executive Vice President of Operations, and de facto Town Administrator for Devens, Massachusetts; and General Counsel of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. He has also operated his own law office from 2001-2007 and 2015-2018. Mr. Ramirez holds a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts- Lowell.
An immediate priority for the new Town Administrator will likely be analyzing the needs and possible proposals for an operating override and a debt exclusion (for the Pierce School building project).
Among the three attorneys whom the Town Administrator Screening Panel has selected, none appear to have substantial experience with municipal finance.
As such, the new Town Administrator will likely lean heavily on staff or help with these proposals, including Deputy Town Administrator Melissa Goff, whose LinkedIn profile indicates that she has been working in the Administrator’s office of the Town of Brookline for 16 years:
While Goff appears to have considerably more training and experience with municipal finance and accounting (including an MPA from Northeastern) than any of the three finalist candidates, neither the Town Administrator Screening Panel nor the Select Board has indicated whether Goff applied to be the new Town Administrator.
Regardless, and assuming Goff remains with the Town of Brookline, the new Administrator, apparently lacking substantial municipal finance experience, will presumably need to lean heavily on Goff for help preparing proposals for an operating override and the Pierce Debt Exclusion.
Should Goff be interested in finding a Town Administrator or similar role elsewhere, Community Paradigm Associates lists multiple such opportunities on its website:
In addition, WBUR’s radio Boston just ran a segment on MA towns’ difficulty in retaining staff:
Meanwhile, the Brookline Community Foundation is searching for a new Executive Director.
The Foundation is utilizing Positively Partners for the search:
Town Administrator candidate Jennifer Dopazo Gilbert’s resume indicates that she was a trustee of the Brookline Community Foundation from 2017-2020:
In response to an emailed question about any connection, current or contemplated, between any members of the Town Administrator Screening Panel, any candidates, employers thereof, relatives thereof, or relatives of employers thereof, and the Brookline Community Foundation, and whether there are any possible real or perceived conflicts of interest between anyone involved in the administrator search and anything related to the Brookline Community Foundation, Select Board Chair Heather Hamilton responded, “As for a conflict regarding the Community Foundation, that is a question for the ethics commission,” presumably referring to the MA State Ethics Commission.
While the Town Administrator finalist interviews are scheduled for Tuesday, July 12 , it is not clear when the Select Board will announce their decision or whether they will necessarily choose to make an offer to any of the three finalists.
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