Residents Speak in Support of Town Manager

Image Credit: Stoughton Media Access Corporation

Stoughton, MA—The selectmen may have postponed an executive session on the potential dismissal of Town Manager Michael Hartman, but that didn’t stop residents from speaking in support of the manager during Tuesday night's selectmen meeting.

Several residents used citizen’s comments to ask the board to keep Hartman, citing the improvements to Stoughton since his arrival in 2012.

Resident Joyce Husseini criticized the board for what she perceived as micromanaging by the board and reports of selectmen at town hall directing departments and appearing at crime scenes.

“This is not your job,” she told the board.

School Committee member Molly Cochran, who served on the search committee that brought Hartman to Stoughton, stood by the committee’s decision.

“He has impeccable credentials, he’s never been fired before. Since then, Stoughton’s fortunes has been raised up,” Cochran said.

She recommended that if the board has an issue with Hartman, it would be best to let him serve the remainder of his contract, which is up in June 2017. In the winter, the board can create a new search committee and have a new town manager for the transition.

“I would ask you, if you decide to terminate his contract before his contract his over, what experienced and highly qualified town manager will want to work with this board? We could be in dire straits,” she said.

Dori Frankel, a resident of Stoughton, implored the selectmen to consider their actions before considering a dismissal.

“I’m not making any threats but take a look at what you’re doing because if you put this town in jeopardy, we’re going to have some dire consequences,” she said. “You have a fine man sitting there and he has the backing of most of the department heads that I know.”

Resident Sharon Fradkin echoed the other speakers in her comments.

“Bad PR has hurt our town and I don’t want us in the news for petty stupid things because that hurts Stoughton,” she said. “So many of us have worked hard to build up Stoughton. I don’t want to live through what I lived through in the past.”

John Anzivino, a member of the Energy and Sustainability Committee, read a letter put together by residents and town employees in support of Hartman. He didn’t, however, reveal who was behind the letter.

“He’s part of a long line of town managers in Stoughton, but in his short time here he’s been very successful in bringing the management of municipal government into the 21st century,” he said.

Hartman, a Canton resident, previously served as a town manager in Jaffrey, N.H. Prior to his job in Jaffrey, he worked in municipal government in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Iowa, and Illinois.

The selectmen gave no reason for the canceled executive session. A new date has not been announced.