EAST LONGMEADOW – Interim Town Administrator Gregory Neffinger told Reminder Publications he has yet to begin negotiations on a contract for his job in a permanent capacity with Board of Selectmen Chair Angela Thorpe, but hopes negotiations would conclude before the board’s April 11 meeting.

Thorpe, whose tenure on the board ends after the April 12 election, reiterated that goal in an interview following the April 5 Board of Selectmen’s meeting.

The Board of Selectmen voted 2 to 1 in favor of hiring Neffinger on a permanent basis at its March 16 meeting. Selectman Paul Federici, who was removed as chair during the same meeting, voted against the decision.

Neffinger said approval of his contract would require the signatures of two selectmen.

Neffinger also shared his thoughts about a residency requirement for the job, noting, “I don’t think its necessary nor required.”

He added, “I never intended to move to East Longmeadow,” regarding his acceptance of the interim position.  

During a public comment portion of the board’s March 29 meeting, one resident asked Selectman William Gorman to include a residency requirement in Neffinger’s contract. Gorman attempted to make a motion to do add the residency clause, but Town Counsel James Donahue told him to do so might be in violation of Open Meeting Law due to the issue not being on the meeting’s agenda.

Neffinger said he believes the residency requirement is unfair because other town officials and department heads live out of town such as Superintendent of Schools Gordon Smith.

He said also he believes requiring existing department heads to move to town would not be practical.

During the search process for a new police chief, the selectmen added a residency requirement for the position. Former Police Chief Douglas Mellis, who applied to the position, is a Springfield resident. His contract expired March 31.

During the March 29 meeting, Neffinger said if the town charter, which calls for a change to a council-manager form of government, passes during the April 12 Town Election the community wouldn’t “owe me a cent.”

Thorpe, who will negotiate with Neffinger on his contract, said after the meeting she has yet to determine whether a provision granting Neffinger severance pay should be included in the new contract.

She debunked rumors that Neffinger’s contract would be for a three-year term.

Charter Commission Chair Dawn Wiezbicki-Starks said severance pay, in the event the charter passes, would be negotiated by the selectmen.

“One would hope that they would look at the fiscal responsibilities to the town,” she noted.

Neffinger also claimed the town administrator position and the Board of Selectmen would continue functioning until the Town Council decides to hire a town manager – pending charter approval.

“That doesn’t mean my job ends that day [if the charter were to pass],” he noted.

According to Article 10, section 3, of the charter, “Any person holding a town office or employment under the town shall retain such office or employment and shall continue to perform the duties of the office until provisions shall have been made in accordance with this charter for the performance of the said duties by another person or agency. No person in the permanent full-time service or employment of the town shall forfeit pay grade or time in service.”

Wiezbicki-Starks refuted Neffinger’s claims, noting, the selectmen would continue functioning, but with greatly reduced powers, until the seven-member Town Council is sworn in on July 1. The first business of the council would be to name an interim town manager, who would be an existing municipal employee.

According to the charter, effective April 13 the selectmen “shall neither create nor eliminate any position, neither hire nor terminate any employee or elected official, nor execute or extend any employment contract during the transition.”

Neffinger said he is uncertain whether he would apply to become town manager if the charter passes.

“I feel like I have all the talents that are needed to be town manager,” he added.

Wiezbicki-Starks also responded to a question about whether the commission has had involvement in robocalls from resident Brad Shepard encouraging townspeople to vote in favor of the charter.

She explained a Political Action Committee called Home Rule Charter was established by residents and is separate from the Charter Commission. It is illegal for the commission to advocate for or against the charter.  

In related business, Board of Public Works Chair John Maybury, during the public comment of the selectmen’s March 29 meeting, addressed his concerns regarding Neffinger’s proposal to use at least $100,000 in community mitigation funds from the MGM Springfield casino for a study of the town center rotary, which Neffinger brought up earlier in the meeting.

He added Neffinger did not consult the Board of Public Works or officials in the department in the decision to use the money for a study of the rotary.

“We are in charge of the streets, the rotaries, and any therefore study,” Maybury asserted. “We have sent in official paperwork from the Board of Public Works to the [Massachusetts] Gaming Commission to get that to stop. It’s not MGM’s money; it’s our money. We were given that money in negotiations with the Select Board, and I think they did a good job getting money for the town, that can be used for several things. It can be used for gambling addiction. It could be used for many different intersections in town.”

He continued, “To just pull off a study where we’re going to pay some engineers or architects to study our rotary again is absolutely ludicrous. When they find out that we have to do land takings, change streets, change traffic signals, and do all the rest of that, it’s not going to cost us $100,000 of the casino’s money, it’s going to cost us potential land takings of millions of dollars to try and institute something that somebody might come up with.”

Maybury stated Neffinger did not bring the idea about the rotary study to the selectmen prior to his announcement about utilizing the funds.  

When asked whether the board would address this issue with Neffinger after the meeting, Thorpe stated she is investigating the matter.

In other business, Selectman William Gorman said Police Sgt. Jeff Dalessio has been named interim police chief while negotiations between the two parties continue, adding Dalessio might be named permanent police chief by the end of the week.

Three finalists were named for police chief, including Dalessio, former West Springfield Police Capt. Daniel O’Brien and Hampden Police Chief Jeffery Farnsworth. Farnsworth and O’Brien dropped out of the running, leaving Dalessio the sole finalist. The selectmen voted to hire Dalessio at its March 16 meeting.

He added between March 31 and April 1, he and Neffinger spent at least eight hours negotiating with Dalessio and his lawyer about the contract. An educational incentive – about $30,000 – has been removed from the new chief’s contract through the negotiations.

Gorman also stated he investigated limiting 24-hour access to a police vehicle for the chief’s position, but ultimately this aspect remained in the contract when it was found that limiting the chief’s use of a police vehicle would not save the town much money.

Thorpe previously told Reminder Publications she was in favor of eliminating the chief’s 24-hour access to a police vehicle in order for the town to yield savings.

“I’m impressed with how [Dalessio] wants to work with us,” Gorman said, noting that Dalessio would have agreed to not have 24-hour access to a police vehicle.

Gorman said Dalessio told him he wants to bring change to the department.

“He wants to step up to the plate and do the right thing,” Gorman noted.

Dalessio declined to comment on his ongoing contract negotiations.

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