Florino stepping down from post
Published on July 5th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA - Town Administrator Ron Florino submitted his resignation to the Board of Selectmen last week, announcing that he will step down from the post next July.
According to the 22-year Town Hall veteran, the demanding position’s toll on his personal life drove his decision to vacate the town’s top administrative post, which he will vacate after just three-years in the corner office.
“I’m neglecting my family and my personal life,” explained Florino on Tuesday, as he poured over mounds of paperwork stacked on his desk. “It was a very hard decision, but I just can’t separate myself from the job. I take it home with me.”
“It’s a hard thing for me to step away from this, but it’s something that I need to do. Sometimes, I don’t see my kids for a couple of days,” added the Town Administrator, whose office is commonly the lone-source of light in an otherwise pitch-black and abandoned Town Hall. “I’m looking forward to coaching my son’s baseball team and going to my daughter’s recitals.”
According to Selectmen Tony Kennedy and Paul Rotondi, Florino’s guiding presence, which has helped steer Stoneham through some very troubled financial waters over the past two years, will be a significant loss for the town.
However, according to both town officials, they understand the Town Administrator’s need to step-away from the job that he very reluctantly accepted two-years-ago.
“I hate to see him go. He’s been a valued employee and has served the town well,” commented Rotondi after a late-night executive session on Tuesday night that lasted until nearly 11 p.m.
“I can understand his reasoning that he has several young children and that he wants to spend more time with them during their formative years. I can relate to that and I respect that,” added Kennedy.
After serving as the Town Accountant for more than twenty-years, Florino replaced outgoing Town Administrator David Berry during the height of Stoneham’s fiscal crunch two-years-ago.
The Town Administrator, who had declined repeated requests from Selectmen Bob Sweeney and Cosmo Ciccarello to submit an application for Berry’s post, surrendered to the demands after the Selectmen failed to approve a final candidate to fill the corner office after an initial search process.
Ironically, when asked about his reluctance to seek out the top administrative post, Florino told The Stoneham Independent at the time that he had significant worries that the job’s demanding responsibilities would detract too much from his family life.
“I felt that I’ve done a decent job over the past two-years. And that’s what I wanted to do, to help get the town through the past few years,” the Stoneham native remarked on Tuesday, referring to his insistence that his tenure would be short when he took the office.
“Because we’re so short-staffed, the Town Administrator has had to be the Town Planner, and the facility guy, and the person who meets with developers [to iron out initial proposals],” added Florino. “So I’ve been assuming so many responsibilities that TA’s in other towns don’t.”
According to retired Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello, who personally thanked the former Town Accountant when he announced his own decision to leave the public arena after 21-years, Florino may have been able to maintain a better balance between his professional and family lives, had it not been for the town’s repeated financial troubles.
“It’s a tough job and Ron is such a good kid. He doesn’t like controversy and when I first asked him to do this, he said no,” Ciccarello responded, when asked for his feelings about Florino’s announcement. “I hate to see him leave. I’ve seen his work for twenty years as the Town Accountant. And he never complained.”
“Maybe if it were better times, he would have stayed a lot longer. I hope he decides against it, because he has quite a bit of experience.”
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