New Swampscott Town Administrator Lays Out Initial Goals For Town Staff, Resident Feedback

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — New Swampscott Town Administrator Nick Connors laid out some expectations for town staff and department heads as part of his first Select Board meeting in the position on Wednesday night, as town leadership looks to move forward following a year of turnover.

Former Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald took a medical leave from the position last November and officially resigned in January with about six months remaining on his contract. Assistant Town Administrator and Department of Public Works Director Gino Cresta was named first acting town administrator, and then interim town administrator, while a search for a permanent replacement took place.

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That appeared to culminate in August when former Marblehead Town Administrator Jason Silva was chosen in a 4-1 vote of the Select Board to be the first choice for the permanent position. But, last month, the job was offered to Connors, the second finalist, after the Select Board said it was unable to complete successful contract negotiations with Silva.

"There are a few key messages," Connors said. "Be on time. Be responsive. Do our best to respond as soon as possible. The real goal is within a day or so, understanding there are staffing and resource constraints. That's something I asked them to flag for me, if there's anything to be done to speed that up, if that's an issue.

"But it's something that's an absolute baseline expectation."

Connors said he will meet with the department staff to learn about each one and identify any ongoing issues in the individual departments about things that may have gone unresolved during the year since there was a permanent town administrator.

He added that he intends to begin initial discussions about the upcoming budget season earlier than normal.

"My door is open to volunteers, elected officials, appointed officials, residents, anyone who has a question," he said. "At this point, I will probably not have the initial answer when someone asks a question. Just to be fair. I am going to disappoint you if you come in looking for the answer when we have our first discussion.

"But that is something we will get up to speed with quickly. But I want people to know that ... we're here to help. I want to get up to speed quickly. The best way for that is to hear from everyone. And not just (the Select Board)."

He added that he intends to embark on a "regular round of outreach" that will include public office hours to "hear concerns and have discussions with them, and understand what's important."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)