EAST LONGMEADOW — After interviewing two candidates on May 30, the East Longmeadow Town Council voted to appoint Deputy Town Manager Tom Christensen to the position of town manager.

Christensen will succeed Mary McNally when she leaves the role at the end of June. The appointment was the culmination of three town manager searches, the first two of which were handled by professional search firms, while the third was performed in-house by the Town Council and Human Resources Department.

Council President Ralph Page reviewed the procedure that had been followed to that point. The town manager position had been advertised through the Massachusetts Municipal Association and the East Longmeadow website. There had been multiple responses, he said, which had been narrowed to three candidates. The week before the interview, the third candidate withdrew themselves from consideration as they were unable to relocate at this time.

The candidates were Christensen and David Flaherty. Christiansen is an East Longmeadow native who moved away after college and returned to raise a family. He was the DPW deputy superintendent for five years before being appointed deputy town manager in 2022. Flaherty is a business owner and, until a month ago, sat on the Westfield City Council. He also has experience working in government.
Each candidate was given a 45-minute interview during which the councilors asked them 17 prewritten questions. The councilors were not able to ask all the questions of Flaherty, whose answers were significantly longer than the time allotted.

Christensen answered a few of the questions by stating he was “steadfast,” “resolute,” and “forthright” in his convictions and how he interacts with others. He also talked about communication and respect being key to how he would build teamwork, balance the needs of departments and address diversity, equity and inclusion. He touted his “unparalleled institutional knowledge.”

Flaherty, on the other hand, said his position as “an outsider” gave him a fresh perspective on challenges the town is facing. He said that Westfield had already been through the creation of a municipal light plant, which is on the June 6 ballot, and he had insight into aspects the town may have overlooked. He described himself as an “achiever” and a “game changer.”

As someone who had applied for the town manager position in each of the three searches performed since McNally announced her resignation, Flaherty said he had “been watching” East Longmeadow for some time and frequently reviewed municipal meetings.

Asked what the greatest challenge is facing the town, Christensen said the infrastructure is aging. “We’re not going to be able to manage it” with the usual 2% of the operational budget set aside for capital expenses. He suggested a “more aggressive capital outlay” of 3-5%. “We can’t afford not to,” he told the council.

Christensen also said communication with the public needs to be addressed. “A lot of people get upset because they don’t know things,” he said. While he said he had spoken with Information Technology Director Ryan Quimby about podcasts and other technological options, he also was interested in community events at which people could ask questions of department heads. “We have to do a better job of getting information to people before they feel like they are blindsided,” he said.

For his part, Flaherty said building a relationship between the council and the town manager was challenging. “I know Mary was triggered a few years ago,” he said referring to accusations that a former councilor created a hostile work environment that led McNally to submit her resignation in October 2021. He said the issue is one of communication.

Flaherty also said the price tag of up to $138 million for the new high school and pool may cause residents to vote against the debt exclusion in November.

Flaherty said he was confident that he could raise the town’s bond rating to AAA before the vote, ensuring more favorable terms on the debt.

Flaherty also said moving forward with municipal fiber would not be “a huge money maker” for the town but would be “a huge money saver” for residents and would help offset the 18.7% property tax increase that is expected to result from funding the high school.

Christensen said his priorities in the first 90 days would be meeting with department heads and taking a harder look at the budget line by line “to see where we can sort of cut a little fat.”

Flaherty was mostly concerned with overlapping with McNally to learn as much information as possible about how she runs the town. He also wanted to meet with department heads and councilors one-on-one in the first few months.

Both candidates agreed that East Longmeadow’s finances were positive. Christensen said he was fiscally conservative and that “every single dollar” mattered. He praised the department heads for budgeting responsibly and Finance Director Kimberly Collins, specifically. He said he would like to work on developing the town center economically, whether through the proposed multi-use town center district or with new buildings. Flaherty said he would be able to work with the School Committee and Superintendent Gordon Smith as “schools historically have absorbed huge amounts of money.”

After the interviews were concluded, the council discussed the candidates.

“I see them both very differently,” Councilor Marilyn Richards said. She said that she favored Christensen, whose interview was “refreshing,” and said he had talent and “spoke from his core.”

However, Councilor Connor O’Shea leaned toward Flaherty. He said that while Christensen was “very genuine, and made some good points, his answers were “sparse” in “vision and forward outlook.” He added that Flaherty had a variety of experience, had researched the town and was prepared.

Councilor Kathleen Hill praised Flaherty’s “incredible amount of knowledge,” but said, “I have a feeling he already has a shopping list of things he feels need addressing.” She said the department heads might find that intimidating.

O’Shea responded that he does not want to upset the department heads, but the council represents the residents and must make decisions based on what is best for them.

Hill referenced a comment by Human Resources Director Joan Iwanicki in which she said not to compare candidates to each other, but to compare them to the list of criteria for the position. “Who checks off the boxes and who are we comfortable with?” she asked.

Councilor Anna Jones said both candidates check off the boxes. Flaherty was prepared and knowledgeable, while Christensen’s “heart and soul are in it.” She said the town would be in good hands with either of them.

“To me, it’s the level of comfort and the contract,” Councilor Michael Kane said of the main factors in his consideration.

Councilor Matthew Boucher said that he had approached Flaherty’s interview with skepticism but was impressed with his knowledge. Despite this, he still preferred Christensen.

Page also preferred Christensen. He said a town manager must delegate to employees in areas in which they may themselves be lacking. The department heads “know and respect Tom.”

The vote was 6-1 to offer the position to Christensen, with only O’Shea voting against it. The offer is contingent upon a background check and successful contract negotiations.