Tyer Seeks to Replace Key City Hall Employees
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The shake-up of City Hall staffers will continue when the City Council is asked at its next meeting on Tuesday to approve a number of mayoral appointments - including director of finance, director of buildings maintenance and director of personnel.
Newly elected Mayor Linda Tyer is asking for former city councilor and current Richmond Town Manager Matthew Kerwood to take over the reins as director of finance. Kerwood will replace Susan Carmel. Former State Rep. Denis Guyer is being appointed as director of buildings maintenance, taking over for Peter Sondrini, and Michael Taylor is proposed to take over as personnel director, replacing John DeAngelo.
The names were made public Thursday when the City Council released the agenda.
Kerwood served on the City Council from 2000 until 2010, with election as vice president from 2006 until 2010. He has a bachelor's degree from Fairfield University and a master's degree in municipal management from Suffolk University.
He started his career as a legislative aid for former Gov. Jane Swift in 1992 and in 1996 he was appointed as the Berkshire County project manager for the state. In 1998 he became the western regional director of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development and in 2003, he started his own consulting company. In 2007, he took a job as town administrator in Blandford and in 2009, he moved to Richmond.
Guyer is a former state representative from 2005 until 2011. He also served on the Dalton Board of Selectmen from 2001 until 2004. Prior to that he worked 12 years at Crane and Co. He moved to Pittsfield a few years ago and took a job with Iredale Mineral Cosmetics. The documentation with the council agenda does not specify his educational background.
Taylor has worked in the personnel office since 2013 as personnel technician. Prior to that he worked 10 years, from 2003 until 2013, as the assistant store manager of Stop and Shop. He has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and a human resources certificate from the College of St. Rose, which he earned in 2014.
The appointments continue a shake-up of city government. Two weeks ago, the City Council approved hiring Donovan and O'Connor to take over legal representation on an interim basis, replacing City Solicitor Kathleen Degnan.
The Council will also be asked to appoint Laura Catalano as an assessor, Maurice Peoples to the Human Rights Commission, Joe Durwin to the Parks Commission, and Chris Flynn, Albert Ingegni, Jeff Doscher and Melissa Bowler to the Council on Aging.
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