The Town of Waldoboro

By Town Manager John Spear - Although it only seems like a few weeks, it actually has been a little over three months since I was appointed Town Manager of Waldoboro on August 23th. Since that time my days and evenings have literally been a whirlwind of activity. I have been accorded a warm welcome and I continue to look forward to doing the best job that I possibly can for the Town of Waldoboro.

As would be expected, a good deal of my time over these past three months has been spent meeting with Town Department Heads and other town employees, getting to know them and familiarizing myself with departmental operations. As I have stated publicly at Selectboard meetings, I am most impressed with the dedication and expertise that the town employees bring to their jobs on a daily basis, and I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that again here.

I also have attended numerous committee meetings in an effort to gain an understanding of the roles of the various committees and the several projects they are currently involved with. As a result of this I have learned a lot about the town and have thoroughly enjoyed meeting many comminuted committee volunteers. In addition I have met with numerous other officials, be they state, county or nongovernmental.

To the extent possible, I have attempted to maintain an open door policy and meet with any resident who has just wanted to say welcome or who perhaps had a specific issue he or she wanted to discuss. I vowed to myself when I started this job that I wouldn’t overbook myself, but looking back at my calendar I’m afraid I failed in this regard.

Another area of focus during my first months has been personnel management activities. One project that has been particularly time consuming has been negotiating an initial collective bargaining agreement with the police and public works employees, who voted to unionize late last year.

Also shortly into my tenure Mike Monck resigned as EMS Director as did Misty Gorski, as Planning and Development Director/Code Enforcement Officer. The process of hiring replacements was an important task that is now complete with the recent appointments of Richard Lash as EMS Director and Bill Najpauer as Planning and Development Director/Code Enforcement Officer.

I have spent a good deal of time reading, reviewing and familiarizing myself with town ordinances, policies, and other documents. I have analyzed the municipal budget in an effort to attain an understanding of the town’s financial status and look forward to reviewing the soon to be delivered FY11 audit. As the new Town Manager these are extremely important tasks for me to undertake and it is critical that I dedicate the necessary time to these efforts.

Finally I would like to call your attention to the fact that on the town’s website at Boards & Committees/Board of Selectmen/FY 2012 Agendas and Minutes can now be found what I am calling “Background Information and Suggested Motions”. As the name implies this document provides background information regarding items found on each Selectboard agenda. This information is posted at the same time Selectboard agendas are posted (typically the Friday before each meeting) and is intended to improve communication and understanding regarding the Town’s business that comes before the Selectboard.

As we head towards winter and budget season I look forward to meeting more people and to furthering my understanding of the Town of Waldoboro.