Several city councilors have commented on the big shoes the next city manager will have to fill with Tom Ambrosino moving onto a new position in the state court system.
Monday night, the council began the process of actually filling those shoes. Ambrosino submitted an official resignation letter to the council, specifying his last date on the job as Friday, Jan. 13.
With that letter in hand, the council set up a subcommittee on conference meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17 to consider the process for hiring a replacement for Ambrosino.
“What we have to do, our city manager has informed us that he is leaving, we have to begin the process of replacing him,” said Councilor-at-Large Brian Hatleberg. “That’s a complex undertaking.”
The subcommittee will also look at the process for the appointment of an interim city manager.
Monday night, the council agreed to discuss the terms and conditions for Deputy City Manager Ned Keefe to take over as the interim city manager at that Jan. 17 subcommittee meeting. Council President Leo Robinson said Keefe stated he will accept the interim position as the search process gets underway.
“We need to have an interim city manager because someone needs to fill the shoes when (the position) is vacated, so we need to discuss that and get everyone on the same page,” said Hatleberg.
City manager isn’t the only position the council will need to discuss filling at the Jan. 17 meeting. The council has yet to fill the position of clerk to the council.
Long-time clerk Paul Casino officially retired effective at the end of 2022, but he will be working with the council on a part-time basis as it searches for a replacement.
Monday night, the council unanimously agreed to hire Casino as a part-time consultant and clerk for the council. The position is temporary until a new clerk is hired, and is set at a rate of $50 per hour with no benefits and not to exceed 20 hours per week.