Public Input Sought in City Manager Process

Chelsea City Councilors have stressed the importance of community input when it comes to hiring a new City Manager.

The council has two current initiatives to gather public input for the search process.

On Tuesday, Feb. 28, Chelsea residents are invited to a council subcommittee meeting beginning at 6 p.m. at City Hall to provide input on the search for a new City Manager. Residents will have two minutes to speak to the council.

For residents who are unable to attend the meeting, there is an online form available on the city’s website at www.chelseama.gov. The deadline to complete that form is Friday, March 3.

The form includes questions about challenges facing the city and that will face the new city manager, as well as the characteristics, training, and experience residents would like to see in a new manager. The form is in English and Spanish.

Earlier this month, the City Council officially voted to make Deputy City Manager Ned Keefe the interim manager as the search process gets underway.

District 8 Councilor Calvin Brown has said that Keefe’s experience in the city will allow him to focus on a lot of projects over the next six months that are already underway, and that having the deputy city manager in place will help make the transition to a new city manager easier when the time comes.

Earlier this year, the council also approved hiring the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management to consult and assist with the City Manager search process.

The Collins Center is based out of UMass-Boston, and helps municipalities with a number of local government efforts, including recruiting.

Late last year, former City Manager Thomas Ambrosino left his position after more than seven years to take a new position as the Court Administrator of the Trial Court for Massachusetts.

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