Coventry Town Manager to Retire, Search for Replacement Begins

Coventry’s Town Manager for the past six-and-a-half years is retiring after a 50-year career in municipal government.

“I’m ready to go,” said Thomas Hoover, 68, who came to Coventry after a five-year stint as manager in Royal Oak, MI, and before that, for 10-and-a-half years as the city manager of Worcester, MA.

“It’s about time to hang it up,” Hoover, who notified the Town Council of his decision two weeks ago, said in an interview. “I told the Town Council I’ve been very happy here in Coventry. We’ve all been successful I believe, from the council’s side and my side.”

Hoover said he has mixed emotions about ”leaving a nice town,” but, he said, “I’m going to be OK.”

The reason: he’ll soon be in Ohio near family. Hoover said retirement also means leaving the Ocean State and they’ll be settling in the Toledo area. The father of six children, he has 12 grandchildren and is looking forward to spending more time with them all.

“I’ll play a little more golf and enjoy my grandkids and my kids, who I see very infrequently,” he said.

The Coventry Town Council on Aug. 24 will discuss the next steps to replace Hoover.

The council is scheduled to meet in executive session to consider contract terms for the interim Town Manager who will take over after Hoover’s last day of work on Sept. 11.

That person will be the town’s Finance Director Robert Thibeault, Hoover said.

The council will also discuss the hiring of a search firm to start the nationwide search for a long-term replacement. Hoover said he recommended four different search firms for the council to review.

The process is expected to take upwards of three months.

“I have no doubts they’ll find a good person,” Hoover said. “There are a lot of good city managers.”

The town will be in good hands in the interim, Hoover said.

Hoover’s career started in Toledo, where he spent 27 years working for the city, eventually becoming City Manager for his final three-and-a-half years. He then moved to Worcester, where over his 10-plus years he oversaw 3,200 employees.

Though Coventry has had its issues during his tenure here, Hoover said it has been a rewarding place to work and while there have been hot-button issues, he said it’s a lot easier overseeing the town’s 170 employees as opposed to a big city like Worcester, which is Massachusetts’s second-largest city with a population of more than 180,000.

A Town Manager will get a few jabs along the way, but “I’ve been through a lot worse,” Hoover said. “This is the smallest place I’ve worked, mind you.”

But being smaller doesn’t always mean it’s a lot easier.

“A lot of people take it for granted that a smaller town is an easier job,” Hoover said. “Quite frankly, the less employees, the more you’ve got to do yourself. There’s not as much delegating that can be done.”