Town Manager Committee Hopes To Present Findings In August

The Town Manager Committee met Wednesday night, and without a quorum, continued to work on a report they hope to present to the town council in August. 

"The mayor is the chief executive officer of the town, the only qualification for the mayor is that he or she be a resident and that they receive one more vote than whomever else they run against," said Mimi Peck-Llewellyn the committee chair. 

One of the significant reasons that prompted the formation of the exploratory committee is that a town manager has professional qualifications a mayor doesn't need in order to run the town, said Mimi Peck-Llewelly, the committee's chair.

And, she said, "come hell or high water, you can't get rid of a mayor."

Peck-Llewellyn said the committee has not voted on a recommendation yet.

The now four-person committee was appointed by the town council in October and was asked to obtain information about the structure, description and mechanics of town council/town manager form of government versus a town council/mayor. The group was also asked to research the benefits and disadvantages of a town manager format of government for Ledyard in so far as its impact on collective bargaining, obtaining grants, economic development and ability to increase tax base, government efficiencies; and, the salary and length of average contracts of town managers among comparable towns in Connecticut. 

"It's apparent that the manager is a more modern concept," said Jeffrey Kulo, the commission's vice chair. "The (position as) mayor is an older concept for how a town would be governed." 

The town manager would have a master's degree in public administration and have experience in the necessary jobs that a municipality would have such as collective bargaining negotiations, obtaining grants, economic development and ability to increase tax base, and, government efficiencies, according to Kulo.

"The town council ends up doing a lot of other jobs than policy and planning, Peck-Llewellyn said. "It really helps that they can have a professional that they can look to to conduct day-to-day operation." 

Committee members have been conducting comparative research between Ledyard and towns similar in population, density and tax base, for instance, and have interviewed mayors and town managers around the state.

Town charters and the responsibilities of the mayors and town managers were also compared. 

Kulo said that, in general, a town manager's salary would be about $50,000 dollars more than the current mayor, Fred B. Allyn, Jr., who earns about $73,000  annually. 

"Is it worth it?" he said. "In terms of financing, the Town of Ledyard pays more per capita in operating expenses (than similar towns)."

Kulo and Peck-Llewellyn said that the town manager salary would likely be offset because a town manager would require less consulting and legal services.

Also at issue is that the mayor's administration comes and goes with each newly-elected mayor. Peck-Llewellyn said the transition between administrations "is kind of a bumpy issue," and establishing a town manager form of government will bring more consistency to town hall. 

"We're looking at taking partisanship out of part of the town," said Peck-Llewellyn. "You don't really need it to get things done." 

The committee hopes to present its findings to the town council in August, which may then decide to appoint a charter revision committee to write the new form of government into the town's charter. If the transition were to take place, Peck-Llewellyn said it would take about three years and the final approval is subject to a public referendum.