Saugus picks finalists for town manager

SAUGUS – The Saugus Board of Selectmen announced its three finalists for the Town Manager position Tuesday morning, after a unanimous vote following a closed-door meeting Monday night.Selectmen named Scott Crabtree, former Chairman of the Saugus Board of Selectmen; Michael Szlosek, the former Town Manager of Uxbridge and former Town Administrator of South Hadley; and Mark Andrews, the former Town Manager of Wareham as their three finalists out of 31 applicants.?I felt they had overall background in government and all had master?s degrees,” said Board of Selectmen Chairman Michael Serino. “They know their stuff and have town government history.”Click to view Mark Andrews’ resume.Click to view Scott Crabtree’s resume.Click to view Michael Szlosek’s resume.Serino said public interviews will be held on Wednesday, March 28 starting at 9 a.m. and selectmen will make their final decision on April 3.?Considering the financial difficulties in the town, and the forensic auditor here and the Inspector General?s office here, we really need someone as soon as possible to come in here and start making some hard decisions,” said Serino.Selectmen vice chairman Steve Castinetti and Selectman Julie Mitchell declined to comment Tuesday.Multiple calls to selectmen Stephen Horlick and Debra Panetta were not returned Tuesday.Some selectmen and residents have stated in the past, both in interviews and during public meetings, that being a Saugus resident will be a key qualification for a new manager.However, of the three finalists, only Crabtree lives in Saugus. Szlosek lives in Ludlow while Andrews lives in Bradford, according to their resumes.Serino declined to say whether or not other Saugus residents applied, citing confidentiality issuesBut Saugus resident and current Swampscott Temporary Town Administrator Dave Castellarin confirmed that he did apply for the position and said he was “upset” that he was not considered for an interview despite having 23 years of experience.?I live in the town and I know the budget problems and everything the town has faced,” said Castellarin. “I worked nine years at the bureau of accounts and local services, the agency that writes Saugus up all the time. I took care of 20 cities and towns ? I am very disappointed as a resident of Saugus with 23 years of experience in state and municipal government and who is currently doing the job in another community that I was not given an interview. The residents during the public meetings wanted transparency. Did they get that?”Town Moderator Bob Long called the search process “discouraging” and said he has heard from several residents in town who are “not happy” with the way things have gone in the month since the manager position was officially posted.?The voters in Saugus are very smart individuals who have been down this road before,” said Long. “They?re going to read something into it, maybe some things that aren?t true, but that?s what they?re going to do based on the process. It gets a little wearing. I?ve talked to people in government in our town and they?re really discouraged. They don?t see leadership and they?re kind of looking at people just taking care of themselves.”Long also pointed to the recent town budget that had raises for several members of the Town Manager transition team as a cause for concern for some Saugus residents.?When the transition committee put in those raises in their budget that the selectmen wanted to pull back, that kind of has caused people in the community to say, ?Wait a minute, what?s going on here??” said Long. “When people heard about that they were not happy.”Crabtree, who stepped down as selectmen chairman last month to pursue the manager job, said he was excited to be named a finalist after finding out Tuesday morning.?I?m looking forward to discussing my qualifications and contributions I can bring to Saugus with the board when they set up the interviews,” said Crabtree.Szlosek also said he was “very happy” to hear he was a fina