Dracut Town Manager Ann Vandal’s bombshell announcement at the conclusion of Town Meeting Monday that she’ll be retiring on Sept. 13 must have come as a gut punch to a community already reeling with the prospects of soaring deficits and millions in potential budget cuts.
Vandal, who’s faced some criticism over Dracut’s financial plight, had previously let selectmen know she intended to retire sometime in 2024 or 2025, but it’s doubtful anyone on the board could have imagined such a truncated departure timetable.
In reality, her absence from Town Hall will actually begin about a month earlier, since she’ll be taking accrued vacation time as of Aug. 9.
That’s less than a month after Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Victor Garofalo leaves on July 12 to become finance director in the town of Sudbury.
Although obviously not conspiring to leave the town leaderless at such a critical moment, their exits couldn’t have occurred at a more inopportune time.
Board of Selectmen Chair Tony Archinski – the board’s co-chair the last time the town found itself in this situation – told the newspaper that selectmen will move quickly to put a process in place to choose a new town manager.
“The process will likely be the same as before, but this time we’ll stick to it,” he said.
Archinski was alluding to the decision back in the spring of 2020 when that iteration of selectmen voted 3-2 to terminate a consulting firm hired to trim the list of candidates down to four to succeed Town Manager Jim Duggan, who had resigned under pressure.
Vandal, serving as interim town manager at the time, placed out of contention, finishing fifth, even though she’d served as interim town manager twice and was also Dracut’s finance director.
Instead, that board voted 3-2, with Archinski and Tami Dristiliaris opposed, to hire Vandal for the permanent position, awarding her a two-year contract.
Back then, Dracut, like every other community, was dealing with disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, the town faces another existential crisis, imploding finances that project a $10 million deficit over the next several years.
And Dracut heads into this black hole of red ink in a huge vacuum of municipal leadership and experience.
With its tight-fisted reputation, Dracut has never been a highly coveted municipal government opportunity.
And now, given its present dire circ*mstances, it’s become an even less desirable career destination.
Although the composition of selectmen has changed significantly since Vandal became the permanent town manager, it’s not clear if the full board agrees with Archinski’s approach to fill the town manager vacancy.
Or whether the board should seek out a competent finance director as its first order of business.
The current five-member board – Chair Archinski, Vice Chair Heather Santiago-Hutchings, Clerk Jennifer Kopcinski, Alison Genest, and newcomer Josh Taylor – has yet to settle in to a working dynamic.
Previously, it consisted of two voting blocs, Archinski-Santiago-Hutchings and Kopcinski-Genest-Joe DiRocco.
Now that DiRocco has stepped away, it remains to be seen if Taylor will align with either existing alliance.
If he lives up to his campaign rhetoric, Taylor will steer an independent course.
During the run-up to the May 4 election, Taylor said in the event of Vandal’s departure, he wanted to hire a strong town manager with a history of achievement in another community and “who fits within our budget.”
Despite their political differences, selectmen really don’t have much choice other than to accept Archinski’s professional search approach.
Given the realities that will soon exist at Town Hall, there isn’t anyone with sufficient managerial experience to insert into the town manager’s position, even on an interim basis.
The unfortunate timing of Vandal’s retirement also puts Dracut in local competition to land town manager talent.
In a letter to the Tewksbury Select Board dated May 30, Town Manager Richard Montuori announced his intention to retire from his position on Oct. 2 after 14 years.
Both towns might turn to a well-known local municipal leader, former Chelmsford Town Manager and Lowell City Manager Bernie Lynch, to find the right candidate.
Lynch now operates a consulting company, Community Paradigm Associates, which works with municipalities seeking to fill top municipal positions.
Lynch’s firm recently worked with Sudbury in hiring former Lowell Assistant City Manager Andy Sheehan to fill its town manager vacancy, and Bedford when it hired Tyngsboro Town Manager Matt Hanson to the same position.
Or Dracut could turn to the Massachusetts Municipal Association for help in its search.
Dracut’s best-case scenario would be convincing Vandal to stay on – which Tewksbury’s Montuori said he would do – until the town hires her successor – a big ask considering the circ*mstances.
Failing that, Dracut – at least in the near term – finds itself in the worst-case scenario – hemorrhaging financially in a leadership void.
