Town Meeting - Operating & Capital Budget Questions

MGravinese

So I have a few questions now that the warrant is out:

What were the reasons the Town Administrator was given such a large increase in pay after he started interviewing for a new job?
How long is his new contract?
What other benefits/perks were included in the new contract?
What will the cost of the 2% increase and 3% step be for the next fiscal year (not 25)?
How does the town believe we can sustain that increase for 12 years of an employes tenure?
Why is the request for a backhoe/or front loader $25K now stated that it is from the Water Dept. funds? I believe it was requested by the Highway Dept. How does the water fund money pay for this?

Cody Haddad, Town Administrator

MGravinese Thank you for utilizing the Town's new engagement platform! Please see the information below that hopefully provides clarity to your questions:

The compensation for the Town Administrator is the result of contract negotiations with the Board of Selectmen and to account for the compensation and classification study that was completed.
The new contract runs through February 28, 2027.
The contract, like all employment agreements, includes fringe benefits such as health insurance, vacation time, holidays, sick time, bereavement leave, professional development. In order to continue the Town's goal of transparency, below is a link to view the executed contract.

https://www.halifax-ma.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif4496/f/pages/town_administrator_contract_march_01_2024_-_february_28_2027_fully_executed_redacted.pdf

Are you referring to only non-union employees, or the total projected payroll increase for the Town from FY25 to FY26 (including union positions)? For example, while we strive to remain consistent with Cost of Living Adjustments, union contracts do sometimes have varying aspects.
The Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee are both committed to compensating employees at a fair market value. This was identified as a necessity in order to both attract and retain qualified staff to effectively operate the business of the Town. The implementation of a 12 step compensations schedule was actually done with your exact concern in mind. Factoring in increases over 12 steps is much more financially feasible for the Town rather than a 6 step system as utilized in the past. A similar system is utilized in the Halifax Teachers Association contract, but the range from step 1 to the top step is a larger percentage than the Town's non-union scale in order to remain comparable with like districts.
This request is for the Water Department to purchase the piece of equipment from the Highway Department which is why the Water Department Retained Earnings is the funding source identified. You may recall that last year, Town Meeting approved the Highway Department's purchase of a new piece of equipment, but rather than trade in the old equipment, the water department would like to purchase it from the highway department so they will have their own equipment to utilize.

MGravinese

Thank you for the response. In all due respect your contract is quite extraordinary. Our previous Town Administrator made significantly less with substantially more years of experience. The additional stipend for insurance if you don't take it - the 5 weeks vacation, length of the contract, expenses and yearly increases is shocking. I cannot blame you for asking for it - I can only wonder why our Board of Selectman approved it? Do they respond on this page ? Or anywhere?

We are in a financial crisis and this kind of increase for someone with little history in our town must be difficult for the long-time employees who have been begging for modest wage increases for years. I cannot imagine that it will sit very well with "your team".

So I am assuming the Highway Department is not getting any new equipment this year?

Cody Haddad, Town Administrator

MGravinese I would recommend that you email the Board members and they could respond to this. I have included their emails below:
john.bruno@halifax-ma.org
jonathan.selig@halifax-ma.org
naja.nessralla@halifax-ma.org

As for Highway Department , there are no capital items for that department on the Town Meeting Warrant other than the $300,000 for road maintenance.

MGravinese

I did reach out to one of the Selectmen and had a very in-depth conversation and I now have a much better understanding of the situation. I have been reminded that you don't always know everything until you ask. Selectmen are asked to provide the support and decisions they think are best for our town. I believe now that this was the case here. I formed opinions and reacted before I knew the entire situation and I admit it. I would suggest that anyone else who wants to know all the facts do the same. Our town is changing - there is no denying that - so our leadership and town hall must change with it.