SAUGUS — Town Manager Scott Crabtree received a positive evaluation from the Board of Selectmen on Thursday night, but with the caveat that communication from the town needs to improve.
While comments from board members indicated their satisfaction with the job Crabtree has been doing, no formal vote was taken. The consensus from the board was that it would revisit the town manager’s evaluation after the Nov. 2 election.
As town manager, Crabtree’s continued employment is determined by the Board of Selectmen, which traditionally conducts an evaluation to determine a manager’s contact status.
“From what I’ve seen and what relationship we (the board and Crabtree) have, the town is moving forward,” said Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano.
When the board voted, 4-1, to extend Crabtree’s contract over the summer, the selectmen agreed to hold a performance evaluation for Crabtree in a public meeting.
Board members met twice in September to discuss the specific criteria in which Crabtree would be evaluated. Since there was such a short amount of time to prepare for this evaluation, the criteria was more general; for future evaluations, more specific criteria will be put in place to keep the board’s personal interest out of evaluations.
Crabtree has been the town manager in Saugus for 10 years and has not indicated any desire to leave his current position. He cited the town’s finances in saying that the town is in a good place, but noted that any positive change takes time.
“Unless you are financially stable, nothing will work,” said Crabtree.
Board member Debra Panetta praised Crabtree for his cooperation and collaboration with the board, which she said has led to much of the success that has been seen in the town.
“Overall, our town manager has done a great job, and I think this board has worked very well with our town manager for the last two years,” said Panetta.
Member Michael Serino agreed, saying that Crabtree has brought a lot of success to Saugus, such as a new middle-high school and the solar farm that was created a few years ago.
However, Serino and his fellow board members said communication from the town needs improvement; he suggested reaching out to employees, in terms of how to work on improving communication.
“Talk to employees and see how they are doing,” said Serino.
Board Vice Chair Corinne Riley stressed the importance of updating residents on pertinent town information. Riley suggested that Crabtree utilize social media to his advantage, which would allow residents to stay informed.
Member Jeff Cicolini told Crabtree that while he has allowed the town to grow dramatically without a media team and additional staffing, that will get more difficult in the future if things don’t change.
“I really think we need to take a deeper look (for more staff), because as we get bigger it’ll get harder,” said Cicolini.
But overall, the consensus among the board was appreciation for what Crabtree has done during his time as town manager.
“I look forward to seeing where you take this town in the future,” said Riley.
