Fidel Maltez will officially take over as Chelsea’s new city manager on Jan. 1.
Monday night, the City Council unanimously approved a four-year contract between Maltez and the city. The current Reading Town Manager and former Chelsea public works superintendent will earn $247,500 in his first year, with a 3 percent increase in salary each year.
Councillor-at-Large Damali Vidot noted that former City Manager Tom Ambrosino left his position in January. She praised Ned Keefe, who served as Deputy City Manager under Ambrosino, for stepping in while the city sought a new chief administrator.
“But it is a lot, and we need to get back to business with the Maltez administration,” said Vidot.
Vidot also took time to thank all the councilors, residents, and committee members who dedicated their time to help select a new city manager.
“I’m looking forward to the changes that are coming and wish you nothing but success,” Vidot told Maltez.
Maltez will be stepping into the City Manager’s role on the first day of Chelsea’s 400th anniversary.
Council President Leo Robinson said the first event of Chelsea 400 will be the swearing in of Maltez in the beginning of January, along with the newly elected City Councilors and School Committee members.
Maltez is currently the town manager in Reading and previously worked as the public works commissioner in Chelsea. In the private sector, Maltez has worked as an engineering manager and field engineer. He has a senior executive in state and local government certificate from Harvard University’s School of Government, a master’s degree in public policy from Tufts University, and a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from Lafayette College.
At the end of 2022, Ambrosino was selected as the next Court Administrator of the Trial Court in Massachusetts by the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court.
The council appointed Keefe as the interim city manager soon after.
In other business, Robinson announced that City Council Administrative Assistant Jessica Carmenatty will be stepping down from her position in November.
Robinson said Carmenatty and Council Clerk Cliff Cunningham updated the job description for the position, and that a search committee composed of Robinson, Cunningham, and Councilor Norieliz DeJesus will help select a new administrative assistant for the council.