The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Residents can have say in hiring of new town manager
WINSTED — Residents interested in joining the process of hiring a new town manager will get a chance to weigh in on what they want in a new town manager, through an Oct. 15 focus group session with the Board of Selectmen.
After nearly five years as town manager, Robert Geiger last month announced his plans to retire, and will leave the post in December.
“Residents are invited to a focus group session to share your thoughts about the skills, experiences, and characteristics desired in Winchester's next Town Manager-CEO,” selectmen said in a statement. “You are invited to stop in and share your thoughts.”
The deadline for interested candidates to apply is Oct. 16. “Your input will inform us as we begin to evaluate the resumes and the interviews,” according to the statement.
Selectmen began advertising for Geiger’s replacement in late September. After the Oct. 16 dead
line, Mayor Candy Perez said, the board hopes to begin interviewing candidates on or around Oct. 23.
“We hope to choose someone by Nov. 15, because we want to have an overlap. (Geiger’s executive assistant) Laurie Bessette is also retiring, and we want that overlap so everyone can understand the job and what it requires,” Perez said.
The in-person session will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the P. Francis Hicks Room of Town Hall.
According to Winsted’s charter, the town manager is appointed by the selectmen as the chief executive officer, “to serve at the pleasure of the Board of Selectmen and who shall be chosen exclusively on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifications, character, education, training and experience.”
The duties of the manager include supervising all departments, offices and boards, overseeing all laws and ordinances, provifing provide to the selectmen and attending their meetings. The town manager must provide an annual report, make recommendations on spending and provide fiscal updates, and prepare and submit an annual budget. The town manager also appoints all department heads and other officers and employees except for elected officials and officers or those who are appointed by the selectmen. The manager also works with the town treasurer and finance director.
Geiger’s management of Town Hall and its many operations leads to interaction with residents from every area of Winsted. This year, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and Tropical Storm Isaias, Geiger worked closely with the state, Eversource and the Public Works Department. Highland Lake’s popularity during the COVID-19 shutdown grew its own set of problems, such as visitors parking along busy roads and slowing traffic.
Geiger also has worked to resolve Winsted’s blight problem, by having old buildings torn down, finding tenants for others, and generally trying to improve the town’s economic development. It’s a work in progress, he said.