Saugus undergoes a year of transition

This is the first of a series of articles examining how events of 2012 shaped Greater Lynn communities and what the events may mean for 2013.SAUGUS – It was a year of transition for Saugus in 2012. It started almost one year ago, when former Town Manager Andrew Bisignani worked his last full day at Town Hall on January 5 after nine years.Selectmen appointed Town Counsel John Vasapolli as temporary town manager and the search was on to find Bisignani?s replacement.Bisignani and the current board had an often contentious relationship since the 2011 election, with each side claiming the other failed to make their intentions known about the future of the position. Bisignani claimed this was the reason he left Saugus to take over as Town Administrator of his hometown of Nahant.As the search narrowed, former selectmen Chairman Scott Crabtree abruptly resigned from his position to announce his candidacy for the manager?s position.The decision was met with praise and criticism from residents and town officials. On March 30, after a contentious, hour-long meeting, selectmen voted 5-0 to appoint Crabtree as town manager.Selectmen Steve Castinetti and Julie Mitchell voted against an initial motion put forward by selectman Stephen Horlick to appoint Crabtree and, after some tense arguments, the board settled on a two-year contract.During the search, accounting firm Powers and Sullivan was in the midst of a forensic audit into the town?s finances. When selectmen released the first part of the audit in April, the document detailed “clear evidence” of “significant violations of municipal finance law.”Further audits revealed $1.4 million in general fund related payroll and expenses being charged to water and sewer accounts including employees of the highway, forestry and cemetery department being paid out of the water and sewer accounts, hundreds of thousands of dollars in vendor expenses not properly bid and payroll stipends improperly paid to employees.Shortly after its release, the former town accountant was terminated and the long-time Department of Public Works Director, Joe Attubato, retired.While it was said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Inspector General?s office were looking into the audit, no charges have yet been filed.In an effort to rebuild the town?s budget, Crabtree was forced to lay off more than a dozen town employees, including six from the DPW. As the deadline for voting on a budget approached, steep cuts had to be made to several departments, including the library, the Fire Department and the Youth and Recreation Department. Hundreds of people turned out for the June 25 Annual Town Meeting to show support for the various departments facing cuts as the $36.7 million budget was finally passed.As more audit findings came out, the town saw its bond rating drop while the Department of Revenue kept tabs on Saugus? finances.Earlier this month, the DOR sent a letter to the town informing Crabtree that Saugus “has met the financial requirements prescribed by DOR for Fiscal Year 2013.”There was transition in other high-level positions in 2012 as well. Former Fire Chief James Blanchard retired after 40 years on the job and was replaced by current chief Donald McQuaid. Former Assistant Police Chief Leonard Campanello also stepped down to take over as chief in Gloucester and was replaced by Lt. Ronald Giorgetti.It?s been more than a year since former library administrative assistant Linda Duffy was arrested for stealing more than $800,000 in library fees and donations. Duffy was arrested on Dec. 7 of last year and this past September she pleaded guilty in federal court. Duffy will be sentenced on Jan. 10.Saugus was the origin of another high-profile crime. On March 23 two men robbed the Saugus Bank on Route 1 and fled in a stolen car into Malden. A police shootout ensued as the two alleged robbers and the alleged getaway driver tried to make their escape. One man was shot dead after carjacking a woman while the two o