Working With Younger Drew Conti to Belmont

One of the primary reasons Jeffrey Conti was interested in becoming the assistant town administrator for Belmont was the opportunity to work with Tom Younger.

He met the town administrator more than six years ago while working at the State House as the local affairs director for Minority Leader Brad Jones.

At the time, Conti said, Younger was the town administrator in North Reading, the hometown of Jones. "We worked on a number of things together and got along quite well," he said.

"So when I was looking to make a change and knew Tom was here, I was even more interested in the job because having a boss you like is a strong draw."

And every day since he came to work for Belmont in the fall of 2005, Conti realizes he made the right decision.

"We think of ourselves as a team," he said of his working relationship with Younger. "He's a terrific person to work for and with."

There's no written job description for Conti's position as assistant town administrator. The duties for others in his position differ according to the community where they work.

In Belmont, Conti said, his most important role is to compliment Younger's strengths. They've naturally divided the responsibilities of the town administrator's office according to what fits their inclination and experience.

Of course, they work together on a variety of projects and Conti stands in for Younger during his absence. On his own, Conti coordinates the town's insurance which involves working with insurance companies and other town departments so they know about liability issues for protecting . Along with that, Conti is the town's liaison for the Insurance Advisory Committee.

"I was shocked to realize exactly how much time I spend dealing with insurance issues," Conti said.

"I had no idea how much is involved in dealing assembling all on the information on the town's insurance coverage and dealing with claims from residents," he said.

Conti also works with town counsel on various legal issues that arise and is the informal chairman of the Ad Hoc Parking Group in which a number of town officials get together every few weeks to discuss the community's parking issues which can range from where a handicap spot should be placed to whether or not a time-restricted spot is necessary in a specific area of town.

Other duties Conti performs include editing notes from Board of Selectmen meetings and submitting them for approval; preparing the annual budget for the selectmen; and doing most of the preparation work for Town Meeting by drafting articles and motions, a job that used to be done by town counsel.

He also initiated another job for himself, overseeing the Powerpoint presentations for Town Meeting and Board of Selectmen meetings.

"It seemed like an obvious way to make issues clearer to residents," he said, referring to the many occasions at selectmen hearings when members have a package of information in front of them which residents who attend cannot see.

Conti loves the job. And he loves the diversity of issues that he deals with in his position. "Each day is different from the next," he said.

One of the most gratifying aspects of serving as assistant town administrator is serving the public.

"I like to be in the office the majority of the time because people drop in – or call – with various questions and I like to be able to serve them," Conti said. "I like to be able to help people understand the status of an issue or answer their questions.

Originally from Carlisle, Conti currently lives in Arlington. In his spare time, he is a member of two singing groups that are working on a performance schedule. Ever since he can remember, Conti has loved to sing and has occassinally been asked to sing the National Anthem for ceremonies in town.

After graduating from Amherst College with a bachelor of arts degree in history, he worked in the software industry in Cambridge and then Connecticut. It was interesting work, Conti said, but he missed having contact with people as part of his work.

From there, he went to work in the State House where he gathered quite a few skills that help him in his current position.

"It's a priviledge to work for this town and with the department heads we have," Conti said. "I'm not sure people realize how fortunate they are to have this leadership. (The department heads) are the best in their fields and, as individuals, they're exceptional."

The job of town andminstrator and assistant town administrator is to manage Belmont, Conti said. "These people make our work so much easier."

Belmont is an extremely intersting community, he said.

"The citizenry really cares about the town and participates," Conti said. "We have a lot of smart people in this town who ask good questions and good ideas which we often follow up on."