Town Of Reading Pays Tribute To Retired Assistant Town Manager Delios

READING, MA — The Town of Reading has paid tribute to Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, who has retired after 13 years with the town and 40 years of public service.

In a news release, town officials said Delios has made major contributions in areas like zoning and simplifying regulations and permitting. She also mentored many public servants over the years.

One of Delios' major accomplishments in Reading, and while working for other municipalities, has been her commitment to breathing new life into downtown areas experiencing disinvestment and neglect, town officials said.

"When she first joined Reading in 2009, the downtown had a few boarded up and vacant buildings and was ripe for a rebirth," Reading officials said in a statement. "Now, over ten years later, Reading has a vibrant downtown and is considered a model community for smart growth, even featured as such by the state. (The town now has) housing development, mixed-use development, and a resurgence in small businesses including restaurants, specialty sandwich and gourmet shops, a coffee shop and a bookstore."

Prior to becoming assistant town manager, Delios worked in community development, planning, economic development, procurement, human resources, and real estate development.

In addition to Reading, she has worked in several communities, including Lynn, Somerville, Saugus, and Peabody, and she even spent six years with the MBTA.

"(Working in the public sector) has to be your passion, and it has been mine," Delios said. "Like anything that is a labor of love, it's not just a job. For me, when I had to lead solutions, partnering with other people to solve problems, that's when I've loved it the most."

Delios said one such scenario was when she helped lead the effort to house homeless people during a terrible flood.

"That was an incredible experience, working with community partners to put together a plan to get people in housing," Delios said. "Starting with nothing, then getting to solve something, that's special."