Search Begins To Replace Town Manager
Galligan Retiring After 22 Years; Council Will Hire Consultant To Help Find Replacement
SOUTH WINDSOR — The town council has begun a search to replace Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan, who will retire in February.
Galligan has been town manager since 1996, when he replaced Jean. E. Zurbrigen. Zurbrigen resigned to take a state position amid controversy over her handling of the hiring of a private tax-collection agency for the town.
The council will hire a consulting firm to help in the search for Galligan’s replacement, aiming to have someone in place by the end of January, although Galligan said he would stay on until someone is hired.
“This town has been good to me for 23 years,” Galligan said. “I’m not about to put the town in a bad position. I put a time frame so the town council has a goal. … Let’s go through the process and make sure it’s fair. … Let’s get goals and objectives in place and get the best candidate.”
Vanessa Perry, the assistant town manager and human resources director who is not interested in the position, will assist the council in the search. Mayor M. Saud Anwar said the council will have to work as “one body” to hire the new town manager.
The council will review recent town manager searches by Meriden, Wethersfield and Tolland for guidance. Councilwoman Janice Snyder suggested creating two groups with membership that includes administrators and individuals from the community to help. “It’s good for us to have input from the staff side and input from the community as part of our decision-making process. It’s important the more wellrounded input you have from other people that are stakeholders,” she said.
Councilwoman Lisa Maneeley said hiring the CEO of the town is the “council’s most important work.”
“I’m hopeful this process doesn’t turn into a political game. … It would be a shame if that happened,” she said.
Deputy Mayor Andrew Paterna said that during Avon’s search, most of the advertisement focused on the community.
“They really wanted the candidates to know and understand what the town is about. There is a lot that goes into this,” Paterna said.
The council will discuss the hiring process at every meeting over the next few months. Snyder said the council shouldn’t be too aggressive with a timeline to hire a new manager, especially with the holidays approaching.
“There are some real time delayers in here,” Snyder said. “If this was January, February and March, I would be like, ‘Great.’ But because of these holidays or if there is bad weather? We want to be sensitive to that as well.”
Anwar said: “December is probably not the best time to market it to the family. We are going to target aggressive opportunities recognizing there may be curve balls that may come. We won’t be married to the specific aggressive guidelines. We recognize quality and long-term interests of the town will be a priority.”