First Ever Municipal Evaluation System
One of the most amazing things during my 3 year term was in my first 3 months when I asked when do we evaluate the Town Administrator. The answer I got was: “we don’t”. So I immediately got to work creating a sub-committee that would look at setting up an evaluation system for the Town Administrator but that would also ensure that the Town Administrator was doing evaluations for his direct reports and then the whole system would cascade down. The point of this is to understand how we are performing and what training or professional development might help us improve our ability to better serve the tax payers. Last year we conducted the first ever evaluation of the Town Administrator where we also decided on goals that we wanted the town to strive for. We are in the process of finishing our second evaluation currently. Hopefully this practice will continue to help us keep measuring our progress.
First ever Assistant Town Administrator to improve YOUR townhall experience
As a result of our Evaluation, it was obvious that the workload at Town hall easily warranted an addition resource to help keep up with everything. In addition we wanted a high level position to be dedicated to ensuring that everyone has an easier time navigating Town Hall and has a good customer service experience. It was a tough fight, but we got the position created and are now in the process of reviceiving applications. This position will be a game changer for Town Hall and will push for Professional Development for town employees and also look to improve our social media interaction and functional capabilities of our town website.
Revived Discover Clinton (now the Clinton Chamber of Commerce
One of the first things I did when getting elected was working with community members to revive the Discover Clinton Merchants Association. This is an organization that advocates for small businesses and holds events to give them exposure to the town. There biggest events are the Halloween Walk and the Sidewalk Sales. When COVID hit, Discover Clinton was crutial in helping to get donations to businesses most effected and help them in multiple ways. Their hard work and dedication caught the attention of the Worcester Area Chamber of commerce and they were invited to join and have now become the Clinton Chamber of Commerce which is a big deal and a good thing for local businesses since this will give them access to additional funds and resources to help our economy.
First Ever Human Resource Manager
Last year we were able to create and hire the position for Human Resource Manager. Another first for the town. This role will help to modernize all our Town Policies and be a new resource to improve Employee services. We are finishing the hiring process for this position after a recent vacancy, but fully expect to have this position up and running again in a few months. This resource is also used by the Schools and is a necessity moving forward if we are serious about improving our employee support structure.
Expansion of Green Light Studios (streaming of High School Sports)
A year before COVID hit, our Public Access Cable Commission was meeting with the Schools to determine the best way to get content for the Public Access Cable Channel and also to try to explore more modern forms of watching content utilizing Internet and Smart Phone options. We set up a structure for students to film and edit High School Sports and get them on the Channel and up on the Internet for all to see. The foundation was set so that when COVID hit, the Schools were able to easily transition to LIVE STREAMING of High Schools Sports. So parents who might otherwise had to wait to watch their kids play a winter sport until the game was over and the video was posted, were now able to watch it live, even on their phone! The production value is off the charts and the game shave announcers, color commentators, guest hosts. From all I can gather is our Basketball games are the envy of the rest of central Massachusetts.
First ever Public Access Cable Director
I joined the Public Access Cable Subcommittee and had a vision to transform our public access service to be an important source of local content, news, and High School Sports. There was close to 700k in funds sitting idle because it could only be used for Public Access purposes. We went to work on hiring a Director for the department that could provide structure and expand services. We have been able to get a lot of our video equipment upgraded and our meeting shave never looked better on tv. In addition to Selectboard meetings, we are working towards haveing every local goernment board meeting streamed, put on the channel and also put on youtube for immediate viewing. We are also working towards a “wrap up” of selectman meetings that will boil hours of meeting into a more consumable 10 minute summary.
Strand Committee
We were all devistated at the closing of the Strand. To help get the Strand back up and running we formed a committee to both help find a new ownership group and consider public funds for possible upgrades. The hope is that some of these upgrades may help to transform the theatre into a more diverse entertainment center. In addition, this committee will help to plan community events at the Strand throughout the year. We currently have a handful of very interested new owners and will be working with the previous owner and the building owner on a path forward to get eh Strand back and better than ever.