Saugus officials react to Bisignani contract signing

SAUGUS – Town Moderator Robert Long said he wasn’t happy with what he called a “laissez faire approach” between Town Manager Andrew Bisignani and the Board of Selectmen regarding contract talks.Speaking on Friday, the day after Bisignani signed a three-year contract to serve as Town Administrator for Nahant, Long said it hasn’t been a very productive two months for the town.”This unsettled issue that’s been in front of the community now for almost two months was not a good situation,” said Long. “I’ve never found it to be a good situation for the community to let something like that linger. It seemed like there was a line there and neither side wanted to cross it.”Both Bisignani and members of the board have stated in the past that neither side approached the other to discuss a new contract.Bisignani’s contract with Nahant will pay him $44,372 for not more than 960 hours of work per year, which will allow him to retire from his position in Saugus and receive maximum pension benefits. Bisignani’s employment with Nahant is scheduled to start on Feb. 1.”It’ll be a good situation for him,” said Long. “Nahant is nowhere near as busy as Saugus is. It’s not the same size and doesn’t have all the different facets that we have of activity in the community.”Bisignani said he plans to give the Board of Selectmen his letter of resignation on Tuesday, but plans to stay on as manager until the end of January and will advise anyone who may take over his position.”I wouldn’t leave the town in that position,” said Bisignani. “I have said that I will be available for consultation at any time even after I leave because there are a lot of projects going on and a lot of details.”Long acknowledged that Bisignani has a lot of critics in town, but also said he has many supporters too.”When it comes down to doing the financial work, Andy does a good job,” said Long. “Obviously he plays things close to his chest, but I’ve found he’s been very easy to work with from my point of view.”Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian said he thinks the Board of Selectmen was just adhering to Bisignani’s current contract, which stipulates the board has until Jan. 21 to notify Bisignani if it will renew. Bisignani’s contract expires on July 21.”These are contractual relationships,” said Manoogian. “I don’t see that the Board of Selectmen did anything wrong. His contract required that the Board of Selectmen give him notice on Jan. 21 as to whether or not they would invite him back to stay. I wasn’t aware that (Bisignani) put forth any type of formal request saying, ‘Can we move up the date of my renegotiation?'”In the meantime, Manoogian said he would like to see a search committee formed and could see either Town Counsel John Vasapolli or Town Treasurer Wendy Hatch step in on an interim basis.”I’d love to see someone like Wendy who came up through the ranks,” said Manoogian. “She’s from Saugus, and she’s honest and well-respected.”Selectmen Chairman Scott Crabtree, however, said it’s too “premature” to start talking about a replacement, since the board just found out Friday about Bisignani signing a new contract.”There will be an executive meeting with the board to discuss it on Tuesday,” said Crabtree. “The issue is that he’s under contract here so that’s something that the board will have to discuss and see where we go from here.”The Board of Selectmen met last Tuesday with Bisignani in an executive session, but Crabtree said he “can’t discuss what happens in the executive session.”For Long, the tensions between Bisignani and the board could potentially have an impact on finding a new Town Manager.”I don’t think that’s been very healthy for the community,” said Long. “And when we go into the market place to look for a replacement ? people look at that and say, ‘What kind of environment do we have here?'”Joe Attubato, the Department of Public Works Director and Town Meeting member, said he was going to miss Bisignani, and pointed to various projects around town past an