Mostly glowing reviews for Florino in first year
Published on November 9th, 2005
With the Selectmen's evaluations peppered with glowing remarks, Town Administrator Ron Florino willingly accepted a one-year contract extension last month that will include a zero-percent raise.
According to Selectmen Cosmo Ciccarello and John DePinto, Florino's immediate approval of the negotiated contract terms, specifically the zero-percent pay increase, underscored their faith in the former Town Accountant's selfless and class-act nature.
"I really appreciate what he's doing. He's going above and beyond the call of duty. What else could you ask for," said Ciccarello, who referred to Florino in his evaluation as the "the finest Town Administrator we've ever had."
"Even if we had offered it to him, I don't think he would have accepted it. We just didn't have the money to give to him right now. He's certainly setting the bar for the rest of our negotiations. If the boss isn't going to get a raise, then nobody else is," DePinto remarked in a separate interview.
Elaborating on the reasons behind consenting to the contract provisions, Florino confirmed the two Selectmen's insistence that his assent was to make a statement to the town's unions and employees.
Firmly believing that he deserved a raise, Florino characterized such a pay increase as inappropriate given Stoneham's dismal fiscal realities.
"I can't accept anything more than what I'm offering anybody else in this town. I consider myself hardworking and deserving of the raise, but there are a lot of other deserving employees," Florino explained.
"So I didn't think it was appropriate to do or accept anything different for myself," the Town Administrator added. "And the Selectmen kind of made up for that [zero-raise offer] by deciding to show their appreciation by extending my contract for another year."
According to documents received by The Stoneham Independent, the Town Administrator, now entering his second year of employment as the municipal side's top ranking manager, will also receive a guaranteed severance package should he not be notified within at least six-months of the Selectmen's intent to part ways with him.
The terms of the new provision will reimburse Florino for the difference between the maximum notification requirement of 12-months and the actual notice provided.
The Town Administrator will be required to receive more than six-months notification only if another municipal department head's contract provisions require a longer notice. In other words, should another department head need 12-months notice, so shall Florino. And if 12-months of notice is required and the Selectmen only provide the Town Administrator with three-months' advance notification, he shall be reimbursed for nine-months' pay.
Although the four evaluations submitted by the Selectmen - which were also received as part of a public records' request - primarily heap praise upon Florino for his actions during his rookie year of employment, there were some criticisms of his performance.
"Ron has done a credible job in his first year as TA, [but he] really needs to be a lot more pro-active and a lot less reactive," wrote Selectman Tony Kennedy, whose sentiments were shared in some cases by DePinto. "Budgets should propose solutions, not just cuts in staffing."
Specifically, Kennedy - whose overall assessment of Florino's work thus far was largely favorable - believed that the Town Administrator's first municipal budget failed to offer enough revenue alternatives and specific recommendations for action.
In addition, Kennedy opined that Florino needed to "think more outside the box", dedicate more time towards Chapter 70 reform, and follow through on annual goals such as: the creation of a driving range, the launching of a municipal website, and the drafting of long-range capital improvement plans and budget forecasts.
Responding to Kennedy's comments, the Town Administrator vowed to be more diligent in accomplishing those feats, and claimed that he will have much more time to slate towards those tasks.
Specifically, Florino claimed that staffing issues associated with budget cuts did distract some of his attention away from the tasks outlined by Kennedy. But after addressing many of those larger priorities- which included hiring a Town Accountant and Assessor, streamlining the Stoneham Arena's operations, eliminating a backlog of complaints and permit delays in the Building Department, and funding the Recreation Department with outside donations -the Town Administrator is ready to work.
"I think we accomplished a lot this first year, especially with what we're dealing with. Given the times that we're in and being understaffed in so many departments, I think we've been successful. But I would have liked to have done a lot more," Florino said, during an interview on Tuesday afternoon.
"That has taken away somewhat from some of the things I wanted to accomplish, but I felt these were important functions in this town," he added, listing the upcoming FY07 budget, which is expected to absorb a projected $2.2 million deficit, as his top priority.
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