With more than 150 attendees expected, the City of Chelsea has announced the location of its Chelsea Then & Now: 35 Years Since Receivership panel will now take place inside the Chelsea High School auditorium instead of the City Council Chambers. The entrance to the auditorium is located at 299 Everett Avenue, Chelsea.
During the event, panel moderator Executive Director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association Adam Chapedelaine will interview Chelsea’s first four city managers—Guy Santagate, Jay Ash, Thomas Ambrosino, and Fidel Maltez—who brought Chelsea back from its 1991 devastating financial collapse. The event will feature a Q&A, and Stephen McGoldrick will provide an overview of what led Chelsea to receivership and what it was like to be by chief of staff to the state receiver.
To reserve your spot, submit an RSVP at www.chelseama.gov/chelsea-then-and-now or email [email protected].
On September 12, 1991, the day the City went into total state receivership, Chelsea collapsed under $10 million in debt, unable to pay its teachers, employees, firefighters, police officers, or bills. The last mayor John J. “Butch” Brennan Jr. resigned, and four former mayors and several police officers were either sent to jail and/or prison.
The panelists are ready to discuss the institutional lessons from 1991 that state and municipal leaders must apply to today’s fiscal challenges; the reality of governance when standard political structures are dissolved by the state; and hidden insights into one of the most drastic government interventions in Massachusetts history.