Stoughton Interim Town Manager: Town Engineer In, Anastos Out

STOUGHTON, MA — At the stroke of midnight New Year's Eve, Stoughton will have its third interim town manager in six months.

The selectmen voted Tuesday night to appoint Town Engineer Mark Tisdale the new temporary head of the town, effective Jan. 1, 2018, pending contract negotiations. Current Interim Town Manager Steve Anastos' contract expires Dec. 31; he declined to reapply, according to Selectman Michael Sullivan.

For the last week of the year, it appears that Anastos may not be around Town Hall that much. Director of Veterans Services Michael Pazyra was at Tuesday's meeting as the acting town manager. Selectmen Chairman Bob O'Regan said he was aware of a request made by Anastos for time off, but declined to say how many days off were asked for.

"All I know is that (the request) was signed by the previous chairman on the day of the (recall) election," O'Reagan said.

Tisdale was one of three candidates for the open position. Procurement Officer Maureen Doherty also applied but was unavailable for an interview due to a previously planned vacation. In her letter of submission, she stated that she was interested in assisting the interim town manager by serving as the designated official to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, having oversight authority for procurement and grants, and acting as the acting procurement officer.

Selectman Christine Howe said the board did not have the authority to appoint procurement authority and such action would have to be taken by the town manager.

A third candidate was not considered because they did not meet the requirement of being at least an assistant department head.

Tisdale is no stranger to the town manager seat, having served as an acting town manager at least 10 times. As the interim town manager, he says he hopes to "keep the ship floating" until a permanent town manager is found.

"I’m willing to help the town get through the tough times until you find someone," Tisdale said.

He said his three goals for his temporary post are to improve morale at Town Hall, get budgets and articles prepared for Town Meeting, and get older projects up and moving. Asked how he would address the Town Hall situation, Tisdale said putting an internal candidate in the interim town manager seat is the first step. He also recommended a firing freeze.

"I don’t want to fire anyone unless someone does something malicious. If it came down to [firing people], I wouldn’t want the position," Tisdale said.

Tisdale has worked for Stoughton for six years, first as an assistant town engineer for two years and the town engineer for the past four. He spent 15 years in the private sector prior.

Since the departure of Michael Hartman, the town has had multiple interim town manager. Town Accountant William Rowe was appointed to the position in late June following a contentious meeting, as was Anastos about a month later.

Tisdale is expected to serve as interim town manager until a permanent one is found. Board members say they expect that period to be four to six months.

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