Lyn Simmons hired as Longmeadow’s new Town Manager, to start Nov. 10

Oct. 9, 2019 | Payton North
payton@thereminder.com

LONGMEADOW – After completing three interviews with potential candidates, the Longmeadow Select Board has put in an offer for Lyn Simmons to be Longmeadow’s new Town Manager.

On Sept. 28, the select board interviewed Paul Fahey, Methuen Mayor’s chief of staff, Scott Szczebak, Wellesley’s human resources director and former Chicopee Mayor’s aide and human resources director, and Lyn Simmons, Northampton Mayor’s chief of staff. During each interview the Select Board asked the candidates a series of mutli-faceted questions relating to both their past experience and how it relates to issues that are facing Longmeadow at this time.

Simmons has worked in municipal government for 16 years. During her introduction she stated that she “loves it,” and “doesn’t see herself in any other field.” She noted that she does not have any aspirations to be in elected office, and that logically, from her current chief of staff position, her next move would be to town manager or town administrator.             “Longmeadow interested me because I was familiar with the town. I did my undergrad here – I spent quite a bit of time here,” she shared. “It’s a beautiful community and I thought this was a great opportunity. The time was right in my personal and professional life, and I decided to take the leap.”

When it comes to leadership style, Simmons states that she is collaborative, and likes to learn the strengths of the people she is working with.

“I think one of the terms to describe it is ‘diplomat,’ where you look at the strength of who you’re working with on the team and you work those strengths instead of looking at, you know, what the weaknesses are,” Simmons told the select board. She continued to note that adapting and modifying based on who she is working with is important because “not every type of leadership works in every situation.”

As the discussion continued, Simmons stated that learning about the issues that the community has, meeting with all boards and committees are all steps she would take to direct the towns vision.

In regard to how Simmons stays abreast of best practices in leadership management in municipal government, she noted that there is “a lot of information in this field right now,” and listed groups that she utilizes such as the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA), the Managers Association and the Massachusetts Municipal Human Resources association. Recently, Simmons stated, she took an eight-week course through the MMA and UMass Collins Center.

“Municipal government isn’t something you can necessarily go to school and get trained in; cities and towns really need to invest in their workforce to make them the employees they want them to be and give them the tools they need,” Simmons said, sharing that she attends trainings as much as she can.

Both select board members Richard Foster and Thomas Lachiusa brought up the town’s approaching the proposition two and a half levy ceiling, asking Simmons if she has experience in financial management or programs or practices that could provide cost efficiencies for the town. Simmons responded that though she doesn’t directly prepare the budget in her current position in Northampton, she is aware of the financial implications that making changes to the budget can have. She explained that the tax levy limit is a concern, and that “hopefully growth in economic development would help with that.”

Communication was the topic of most of Simmons’ responses; she noted multiple times that many conflicting situations occur due to a lack of communication. She explained further that internally, she communicates with people over the phone, emails and meetings. Simmons stated that when communicating with people in past positions, she’s found that certain people prefer communication to be in a certain manner – one person may prefer a daily email, whereas another may want a daily phone call.

“Over time I was able to figure out what it was that each person needed in communication...It was up to me to figure out how I could be successful in each situation,” Simmons said.

Simmons envisions her relationship with the select board to be one of mutual respect, understanding and trust. She stated that she would hope that each member would have each others best interests in mind, and that once again, there would be communication between herself and the members.

Though she doesn’t have experience as a town manager or administrator, Simmons stated she feels she is “uniquely suited” for the position as she has experience “on so many different levels of municipal government.”

On Oct. 2, the select board reconvened and moved to enter into negotiations with Simmons. Select board member Mark Gold stated that he “made some extra calls” and that everything he has heard about Simmons “continues to come back positive.”

On Oct. 9 the select board announced that Simmons will be taking over from Interim Town Manager Jay Moynihan the week of Nov. 10.

Share this: