CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The interviews that were supposed to occur at Town Hall on Tuesday were scrubbed after the two candidates for town administrator bowed out.
Selectmen Chairman Carl McKinney said the town will start from scratch by organizing another search committee and readvertising the job.
The search committee received about a dozen resumes and selected four to interview, two of whom declined. That left two as finalists including Debra LeFave, who had resigned as selectman to apply.
"They only ones [the search committee] were interested in out of the four were the two they put forward," said McKinney afterward. "One of them withdrew and one didn't answer the call. It behooves us to reopen the search and do it to the best of our ability."
McKinney said the Selectmen were not in a position to "determine the constitution of a new committee" at Tuesday's meeting.
The town's in a time crunch with the imminent departure of Town Administrator Michael Canales for a city post in North Adams just as budget season approaches. The board will meet with Canales and town department heads on Thursday afternoon plot a way forward. The mayor of North Adams has indicated he would allow some "sharing" of Canales' time.
The town is now down a selectman, a town administrator and soon, a town accountant. The Selectmen accepted with "deep regret" the resignation of Beverly Cooper, the town's part-time accountant, effective this April. That post will also have to be filled.
"There's going to be a lot of work sharing in this town, I got to tell you," said McKinney. "Our plate is full."
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Wow!! Something is very strange with this picture. Almost like there is a grand scheme and this is just another piece of the puzzle. Which one withdrew?
Things couldn't have worked out better. Neither party was qualified for the position of town administrator. Now maybe we can conduct "real" interviews and get someone that is qualified, based on their own merits and accomplishments, instead of who they know.
Well, with all this that is going on it looks like Clarksburg will have to pay out more money to get a new administrator, rather than paying all its money to the school janitor.
hey Mike, Before you make an asinine comment, maybe you should get your facts right. The school custodian, prior to about a year ago, was working 10 hrs a day, 5 days a week. The Town administrator and the rest of the town hall workers, work 4, 8hr days. So if u can't do simple math that's, 50hrs compared to 32 hrs. Plus the school custodian is always the first one called if there is an issue with the building.
Ah, it all falls into place...now they can name Ms. LeFave interim town administrator, without the hassle of a job search and interviews, and in a bout 6 months, they will just give her the job permanently...I love small town politics.
BMM,
The fact of the matter is that it has been stated that the school janitor makes more money than the Town Manager. I'm sure the Town Manager puts in far more hours per week than the janitor. That being said, the Town should review the current pay and consider offering a better pay package for the new manager.
Oh, and by the way does that school janitor get school vacations and the summer off?
Editor: Yeah, got to say if your top administrator is making less than the school janitor in any case, maybe you're not going to attract the best talent.
maybe no one wants to work for the town... can't see why, you seem like a bunch of rational, straight forward folks. Most anyone would assume it's a conspiracy...
To answer a question, the custodian gets vacation time to use but does not get school vacation or the summers off. And how did a hard working custodian get pulled onto this mess? He earns every penny that is for sure, but if Clarkburg needs to adjust other positions salary then talk about that. No need to use him as a comparison trying to make it seem like he is rolling the the dough or something or that his job is less important. Get back on track with the REAl issues, people!
I have been reading these comments and I am really confused, so help me out please. Not sure why we are bringing up a janitors position/pay when we are discussing Town administrator. Clarksburg always says they go through everything with a fine tooth comb so I would think that someone would have caught this "oversight" of a janitor being paid more than a Town Administrator by now. I also know for a fact that when that statement was made over a year ago it was challenged with the real facts at a town meeting for all to hear. So I don't know why this is being brought up yet again.
Editor: It was brought up as a comparison about how much the town administrator is paid in Clarksburg, it has nothing to do with how hard the janitor works.
The issue in town is hiring a QUALIFIED Town Administer and filling the vacant select person seats so the town can address real issues and not the school custodian pay.
I live with the school custodian who seems to be under fire from a lot of people who don’t know their facts.
The inappropriate statement about his salary made at a selectmen’s meeting last year from a board member was publicly addressed by me at the annual town meeting. Facts and figures are public knowledge so feel free to get the right ones from the annual town report or town hall.
You can visit the custodian at the school while he is working during school breaks and summer vacation. He works, Monday through FRIDAY, after hours to answer the alarm system, and after hours to work with contractors and deal with problems that he can solve himself to save the town money.
To all of those people with so much to say, feel free to fill out an application to be a substitute for him on his days off. Maybe when he retires you can have his cushy, high paying job with summers off!!
I would like to thank the people who do respect the good job he does
from: Proud wife of the custodian,but embarrassed to say I live in Clarksburg
I have to disagree with the editor. Her comment about "its about how much the town administrator gets paid - not how hard the janitor works" is incorrect. People are bringing up cracks that are aimed at the janitor, who has nothing to do with this. It's being pointed out here that the Town Administrator only works 4 days a week - not five. With that in mind....Forty something thousand dollars a year sounds pretty good. Pretty good to someone who's been unemployed and continues to look for a job....pretty good to someone who's getting older and wants to shorten their work hours but not retire yet....pretty good to someone just out of college with a degree in public administration but can't find work. Heck - it sounds pretty good to me, who has a college degree and a full-time job but doesn't make that much. Get your head out of the sand.....the money is there - you just need to advertise it correctly.
An issue that should be addressed by iBerkshires.com...and not necessarily in this forum (comments) is the tongue-in-cheek sarcasm of the "editor" who flippantly...and often defensively...replies to people who submit comments that do not warrant his/her attention. This practice has been evident and prominent in other "discussion" threads such as the ACRSD vs Dr. Bush comments. Yours is an excellent source of news. Please caution the editor not to wallow in the small town pettiness which will soon turn this news site into a supermarket rag. The taxpayers of Clarksburg need help finding intelligent people who are willing to work hard for the town. The last thing we need is a news source joining in the fray by making snide remarks. I guess it does...however...keep people coming back to iBerkshires...so I guess maybe it's working for the editor in that sense. Shame.
Grown adults should review facts and figure before acting like the children and pointing fingers towards people that are hard working and dedicated to their job! Clarksburg wants to find extra money to improve the town, start charging out of town "clubs" to use town faclities! Tax payers are the ones paying the electricity, water,etc etc. Start charging extra everytime the set off the alarm..
Perhaps this time, the search committee can get candidates lined up who are not as strong as Ms. LeFave...maybe that was the problem...and lucky for her, her opposition didn't show...Any word on who was to interview first? If Ms. LeFave was second, was there a tip-off not to show up, either? I cannot for the life of me believe that she would resign from her position of power, to only back down in the end...something is up.
RE: An issue that should be addressed by iBerkshires.com...and not necessarily in this forum (comments) is the tongue-in-cheek sarcasm of the "editor" who flippantly...and often defensively...replies to people who submit comments that do not warrant his/her attention.
-- I couldn't agree more. I brought this up on a recent article that was posted about the City Council. It gets rather annoying to read what he has to say. Go post your own response just like we all do if you have an opinion. ---- As far as the town administrator goes, something is fishy there is no doubt there. We all know that. But hey, thats politics. Just like Obama will wait and do something huge just before elections and everyone will think he's a hero and re-elect him. Maybe Part III of this soap opera will be Ms. Lefave doing something extraordinary and she will end up in the position. Maybe someone part time with a personality could do the administrator job for a much lesser amount and raise the amount the selectmen receive for the extra work they'd need to do. Stop getting so fancy with the frigging qualifications someone needs.
There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.
In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.
Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear.
The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.
"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."
Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.
In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.
The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.
"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.
The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.
In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.
"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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