News

Planner, Assessor surprised by reorganization
Manager springs it in public
By Elizabeth Prata

Gray-- Town Department Heads got an earful at the day-long budget session with Council and Manager last Saturday. Aside from the lengthy deliberations about each Department's budget, Manager Mitch Berkowitz and Code Enforcement officer Paul White revealed a major reorganization involving the Planner and Assessor, surprising both Department heads in public.

In the past, the day's events were structured so that each Department head came in, made their pitch, and left. Then the next Department head would come in. This year, though, Council wanted all employees present along with Manager, all day, so everyone could hear the same thing at the same time.

Both Planner Dick Cahill and Assessor Helen Taylor had known something was up during the week's progression to Super Saturday. As Dick told the Council on Saturday, "Mitch and Paul are developing something, that's why Helen and I are hanging around. We're waiting to see what it is." Right, Taylor.

The Assessor was the first of the three Departments to speak before the Council. Councilor Denise Duda asked Ms. Taylor to explain more about alternative 1 on in her business case, 'Combining the Assessing, Planning, and Code departments into one called the 'Community and Economic Development Department.'

The CED Department was something that Mr. Berkowitz raised last year to the previous Council. The Council at that time had reservations about the oversight of the Assessor under such a proposed organizational structure. Statutorily, Assessors work for Council and ultimately under the jurisdiction of the State Tax Assessor. The Council at that time dismissed the idea with little discussion.

It popped up again this year in Ms. Taylor's business cases, where, at the top of the page was a proposition for a CED Department, and at the bottom of the page, was, "Respectfully submitted, Helen Taylor, Assessor, and Mitchell Berkowitz, Town Manager."

Councilor Duda asked Ms. Taylor to describe the idea more specifically. "I didn't write that. Mitch did," Ms. Taylor replied.

Vice-Chair Upham said, "Your name is on it." Ms. Taylor replied, "I didn't know that until I received a copy of it. Mitch did it and gave it to me."

The proposal is sketchily outlined in the Assessor and Planner's business case proposals. When Code Enforcement Officer Paul White's turn came to speak, Mr. Berkowitz arose and passed out a longer memo on the spot, more fully describing the idea.

The proposal was to combine the three downstairs Departments of Code, Planning, and Assessing. Mr. White would become the Department Head and oversee the Planner and Assessor. The reorganization would not save any money, but instead "improve daily supervision and coordination between Planning and Code and Assessing," as the memo describes. Mr. White has worked for Gray for seven months, Ms. Taylor since 1997 and the Planner for about twice that time.

Mr. White said that after working in Gray for these months, he sees that there are deficiencies in the other two Departments. "They are doing a good job, but there is deficiency in the way business is being produced. Things can be better." Mr. White said it would help streamline things to have one person answer to the Manager, one person to dispense consistent information, and that at the Planning Board level, "I have the sense that people are not getting a fair shake." Mr. Berkowitz agreed saying that, "Fragmented services don't help."

The last speaker was Mr. White and the meeting broke up shortly after the plan was announced. Transfer Station Director Randy Cookson told the Council that the conversation had bordered on personnel and had no place in a budget discussion.
That comment opened the door for Mr. Cahill to speak up. "We were blindsided on this and Helen and I are not happy. I could say things on the other side because there are two sides to every story, and I would like an opportunity to speak to that at another time."

Ms. Taylor said that she "would have liked to have had some idea that these things were going to be proposed." She reminded Council that she is hired by the Council and that she answers to the State Tax Assessor.

Later, Mr. Berkowitz apologized to Mr. Foster for failing to provide Ms. Taylor with a copy of the memo, saying he had had no time to do that. The memo is dated December 1.