Filiatreault Named Interim Township Manager

In 20 years of working for the township Jeff Filiatreault has seen a lot of changes including numerous administrations come and go.

During that time Filiatreault has been called on to serve as the Deputy Manager, the Acting Manager and in his current role of Chief Financial Officer. At Tuesday’s meeting Filiatreault was once again named Interim Manager following the resignation of Helene Schlegel this past Friday. “I really see my role as kind of a caretaker until they find a permanent replacement,” he said.

Filiatreault started in the role on Monday and said he has been busy balancing his two roles in the administration. “It sure is making for an interesting day,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been at it for two days and so far I’ve been able to keep my head above water.”

Not knowing how long he will have the dual roles for Filiatreault said he is looking to keep things running smoothly at the Municipal Building. “I’m certainly not starting any new projects,” he said. “I’m just trying to keep things going and finish what was in progress.”

Mayor Bill Gotto said that while the township looks for a permanent replacement the governing body was glad to have Filiatreault filling in on a temporary basis. “He brings a wealth of experience, institutional knowledge and financial background,” he said. “I think he’s going to do a fantastic job servicing the short term needs of the community.”

Part of that work will be helping to put together the budget for the upcoming year. In his role as CFO Filiatreault would have been involved in the process anyway but this adds a new dimension to his contribution. “Now that he has the additional responsibilities it seems like a really good fit,” Gotto said. “We asked him to get involved because we needed him and he stepped up.”

There is no timetable in place for a permanent person to fill the position but Mayor Gotto said the process is underway. “We’re going to sit for a short period of time and just measure the flow of stuff coming in and then depending on what we get and how much quality we’re going to take the next step.

The council is scheduled to meet again on September 24 at 7 p.m.