Granfield is Hooksett town administrator

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:05:00 GMT

Hooksett’s acting town administrator now has the job for real.

Carol Granfield of Meredith has been filling in as town administrator since November, when David Jodoin left to take a similar position for the town of Pembroke.

She will have the position officially on June 29.

Granfield has a strong background in human resources and working with employees and unions, she said. She has chosenalso worked with varied economic development programs that help communities and businesses.

She worked as town manager in Meredith for five years, town manager of Derry for five years before that, as well as being the first county manager in Cumberland County and town manager of Dixfield, Maine.

“I enjoy the varied work and connection with the citizens, employees and businesses,” she said. “I have been able to make positive contributions to the communities I served and enjoy being involved with making the community a wonderful place to live or work.”

Granfield has a master’s degree in administration from Central Michegan University and is credentialed by the International City/County Management Association.

“Now that the election and Town Meeting decisions have been made, one of the biggest challenges will be to ensure there is sufficient revenue coming to Hooksett to continue the outstanding services to its citizens and businesses,” said Granfield. “I plan to continue establishing a good rapport with the residents, employees and businesses. Hooksett has grown over the years and I hope to accomplish establishing appropriate written procedures so there will be consistency in treating everyone the same with the same standards.” Granfield wants Hooksett residents to know she is accessible and welcomes them to stop by to meet her.

Town Councilor David Ross is pleased with the choice of Granfield.

“Carol has shown herself to be very organized, prepared for every meeting, subdued in her demeanor, pleasant at all times, able to work with everyone she has encountered, and genuinely concerned for the town’s efficient and proper administration,” he said. “My only regret was spending all that money to search for others to compare her to, which only proved to enhance her value.”

Granfield’s salary has not yet been made public, as the contract has not been finished. Jodoin was paid $90,000 a year for the position.

Hooksett town councilor furious as five councilors sign contract without vote

Hooksett Editor — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:08:00 GMT

BY GINGER KOZLOWSKI

Hooksett Town Councilor Patricia Rueppel is calling for the resignation of five of her fellow council members following the handling of a contract for the services of an interim town administrator.

The five town councilors, David Dickson, George Longfellow, Bill Gahara, James Gorton Sr. and Paul Loiselle signed a contract with Municipal Resources Inc. for an interim town administrator’s services without waiting for a discussion and vote on the contract.

“We had the Hooksett four, now we have the famous five. Is the stupid six next?” said Rueppel. “I want the famous five to resign, whoever the five are who signed. Their act was not only inappropriate, it’s illegal.”

Rueppel said she spoke to Don Juton of Muncipal Resources Inc., who confirmed the contract was stamped received on Dec. 16, a day before the Hooksett Town Council would have met to vote on it.

Carol Granfield has been doing the job of town administrator since Nov. 17, shortly after David Jodoin left to take the same job in Pembroke.

She came to Hooksett through Muncipal Resources Inc., or MRI, which assists state and local governments with planning, management and support services. She is being paid $70 per hour for two and half work days per week, said Hooksett Town Council Chairman David Dickson.

The contract for her services was presented at the Dec. 3 Town Council meeting, said Town Councilor Michael Pischetola, but no one had had a chance to review it beforehand. Dickson suggested members take the contract home to review, and it would be discussed and voted upon at the next meeting on Dec. 17.

When that meeting took place, said Pischetola, Dickson said the contract had already been signed by five members and there was no further need for discussion.

“When Dave said the contract’s been signed, everyone looked around, like who signed the contract?” said Pischetola. “To this day, I don’t know which five signed it. How can you do that? How can you have a meeting with five councilmen? Was it phone calls, all together?” Pischetola said he felt he did not get a chance to represent his constituency as the contract was approved without any of his input.

Town Councilor Nancy VanScoy echoed that sentiment. “Councilor Rueppel and I felt the contract should have been discuss in public so all councilors had an opportunity to addressed the terms of the contract as a voting body,” she said.

Dickson says he now realizes he should have waited to get everyone’s input.

“The disagreement was that I asked five councilors (a majority) sign the MRI agreement for Carol’s services. These were the councilors I saw over the period from Dec. 11 to Dec. 17, and when the vice chair told me he would not be at the meeting, I asked him to sign also,” said Dickson.

“The contract was in all councilors’ possession for review since our last meeting, Dec. 3. After I got five signatures, I had it forwarded back to MRI. My mistake was that I should have waited for the council meeting on the 17th and offered everyone a chance to discuss one more time and sign at the same time. In my rush to get one more thing off my plate I definitely should have waited til the meeting on Dec. 17th. Lesson learned.”

Rueppel had harsh words for the chairman’s handling of the contract.

“He felt it was OK because he had five councilors sign it without the benefit of a discussion or a vote,” she said. “Need I tell you, I was furious.”

Among the issues Pischetola and Rueppel are concerned with is a cap on the amount of money being spent on the interim town administrator, with no cap on spending. Pischetola said the council did agree to have a cap on spending, but wondered if this was passed on to MRI. Jutton told Rueppel he was unaware of the cap, said Rueppel.

“Pat explained to me the reasons she wanted a cap, which sounded extremely logical to me,” said Pischetola. “You don’t go and spend money you don’t have. We’re spending that money without discussing it.”

The Town Council agreed on Dec. 17 to place a $7,000 per month cap on the interim town adminstrator’s compensation.

Rueppel said the council also agreed to spend $12,000 on a search for a permanent replacement, with MRI handling that process. She was unable to explain why Assistant Town Administrator Elizabeth Dionne was not asked to handle things in the interim, despite having acted as interim in the past.

“Three times, Liz Dionne was acting town administrator,” said Rueppel. “She’s done an excellent job every time.”

Rueppel also wrote a letter to The Hooksett Banner, published on Dec. 4, asking voters to remove every town councilor who had anything to do with the so-called Hooksett Fired Four, four female Town Hall employees who were fired for gossiping about the town administrator.

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Granfield is Hooksett town administrator

Hooksett town councilor furious as five councilors sign contract without vote