Job title shake-up in store for accountant office at Town Hall
Published on September 13th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA - The Board of Selectmen endorsed a major Town Hall shake-up on Tuesday that will install outgoing Town Administrator Ron Florino into the Town Accountant's post nearly nine-months before he intended to walk away from Stoneham.
After a chaotic week that featured one prominent town official's resignation, the Selectmen emerged from an hours long executive session on Tuesday night and confirmed that advertisements seeking Florino's replacement would immediately be circulated.
In addition, current Town Accountant Ron Castignetti, who had submitted a tersely-worded resignation to the Town Administrator earlier last week, agreed to rescind his decision and become Assistant Town Accountant - a position that was eliminated during budget deliberations just before Castignetti arrived in Town Hall last year.
In restoring the Assistant Town Accountant post, the Selectmen tacked on a new job duty, Town Auditor, although an exact description of the dual role has yet to be finalized.
"We're going to readvertise immediately for a new Town Administrator," Selectman John DePinto confirmed at 11 p.m. Tuesday night, adding that town officials were estimating the hiring process would take four-months.
Just hours before the closed-door deliberations, various Selectmen lamented over the loss of Castignetti, and hinted that Florino might be asked to replace the Winchester resident.
The Town Administrator, Castignetti's predecessor of 20-years, recently announced that he would step down from his current post next July for personal reasons - mainly to spend more time with his wife and young children.
"It's disappointing," Selectman George Seibold said on Tuesday afternoon of Castignetti's resignation last week. "He certainly has some energy to him. He stayed late and worked on weekends. He certainly had a great work ethic."
"I think we have to look hard and look fast [for a new Town Accountant]. And the same goes for the Town Administrator, I think we should advertise for that job too. I don't know how Ron [Florino] feels about this, but he was Town Accountant for 20-years," added Seibold, who was interviewed just hours before Tuesday night's Selectmen meeting.
Reached on Wednesday morning, Castignetti, who had heated discussions with the Selectmen the night prior, declined to elaborate on what his exact grievances were.
A copy of the Town Accountant's letter of resignation, which reportedly details some of Castignetti's concerns with Town Hall operations, was characterized by Town Counsel Bill Solomon as a personnel record exempt from the state's public records law. At this time, The Stoneham Independent has not submitted a formal freedom of information request for the letter.
While Castignetti wouldn't detail the nature of Tuesday night's talks, citing that they were held in executive session, he now considers his concerns with the Selectman to be adequately addressed.
As to his change in job titles, the Town Accountant praised the move, saying that he had initially approached Florino about the possible change when he announced his pending retirement a few months ago.
"When Ron submitted his resignation, I told him, 'We can't afford to lose you, so if you want you're old position back, you can have it,'" Castignetti recalled. "So now I'm thrilled [at the Selectmen's decision] and I respect the Board of Selectmen at the highest level now."
"I'm not the normal, greedy person who wants to milk the cow. I'm different and I volunteered to do this to ensure that two key players continue to stay in the town," the new Assistant Town Accountant remarked, when asked why he would agree to a pay-cut.
According to Florino, while he was completely open to the change, and excited at the prospects of returning to his old office, the ultimate decision was out-of-his-hands, as both posts are appointments of the Selectmen.
And while the Town Administrator also declined to elaborate on the nature of Tuesday's nights discussions, he did praise Castignetti for his willingness to take a reduction in salary - Florino's pay will also be slashed under his new role.
"We are looking at reorganizing the accountant department and I would love to still be part of the town. But these are their [the Selectmen's] appointments, so it's really hard for me to say, 'Yeah, I'm going back there,'" remarked Florino on Wednesday morning.
"You don't find too many guys like [Ron Castignetti], guys who care enough about the town to take a pay cut. I think the town really owes a lot to him. He's gone above and beyond the call of duty."
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