Cheshire Moving Forward With Special Town Counsel
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Selectmen will appoint a special town counsel to assist in dealings going forward in regard to the town administrator position next week.
The board held a quick meeting Friday in order to approve the hiring of a special town counsel, and Chairwoman Michelle Francesconi said attorney Jeff Grandchamp indicated he was willing to hold the position.
"He said he is willing to take on the role, and I have put it on the agenda for next Tuesday night," she said.
Town Administrator Edmund St. John IV resigned last week effective immediately.
On Tuesday, the Selectmen agreed they wanted to hire someone separate from St. John to help tie up some loose ends and assist in the upcoming town administer search.
Current Town Counsel Edmund St. John III is the former town administrator's father.
The board does plan to hire an interim town administrator but for the moment, Francesconi will handle many of the administrator duties.
There was a question if Francesconi should receive a stipend for the extra workload, but she noted this is not legal.
As for the interim position, she said the town does not have to advertise the position and former Town Administrator Mark Webber has warmed to filling in in the interim.
"He is willing to help with the basic town administrator functions as we have to navigate these coming months," she said. "He has the knowledge of the people in town so that is something to keep in mind. He is probably the quickest turnaround."
She said she saw Webber more like a "helping hand" and that many duties would still fall to the board. Her main concern is missing state reporting and fiscal deadlines.
She said this can be discussed at a future meeting.
Francesconi said Grandchamp will have an hourly rate and asked if the other selectmen had any immediate questions.
"The faster we go through the question process the less it will cost the town in the long run," she said. "But we want to be thorough."
Selectman Jacob Levesque wanted to know if it was possible to move to a full-time town administrator. He felt the part-time position and the smaller salary may deter possible candidates.
Selectman Mark Biagini had similar questions and wanted to know if the position could start part time and move to full time during the budget season.
Selectman Ron DeAngelis had no immediate questions, and Robert Ciskowski preferred to stay silent. He said he still hadn't wrapped his head around the situation and that he felt partially responsible.
"I am the one who backed down in the decision during the last search for a town administrator so you can thank me," he said. "I am going to lay low and tuck my tail. I am trying to collect my thoughts ... I guess my track record for picking town administrators is not good."
St. John resigned from the board to apply for the town administrator position. This left the decision to Ciskowski and former Selectwoman Carol Francesconi. The two board members were split with Ciskowski against hiring St. John. At one point, he offered to vote for St. John but was prepared to resign from the board immediately afterward.
This never came to be and both Ciskowski and Francesconi eventually voted to hire St. John after he worked as in interim in the post for several months.
The selectmen agreed to compile questions for an upcoming meeting.
