Reading local media reporting on the progress of hiring the proposed Marion Town Facilities Manager, it’s apparent there has been little thoughtful analysis by the town administrator or Board of Selectmen in the design of the job, its value added for our town and ultimate cost.

The job advertised pays between $65,000 and $75,000 dependent on qualifications. Considering a 35 percent load factor to cover payroll taxes, insurance, pension, health benefits and the like, taxpayer cost for this position becomes $87,750 to $101,250. Based on the 2012 Town Report the director of Marion’s Department of Public Works earned $88,055, town administrator $110,918 and recreation director/Selectmen $46,146.

The advertised job description states the candidate must be “tool belt ready” and be able to perform “manual work relating to maintenance, repair, and capital improvements to town buildings (except the school), grounds and structures.” To me, this looks like a $100,000 a year taxpayer supported maintenance position; work that should be performed by public works. The facilities position becomes another permanent increase in the town’s cost structure, as has the $30,000 for the town grant writer.

The second part of the job description is an oxymoron. In addition to being “tool belt ready” the qualified candidate must be a registered architect or a professional engineer with five years of experience. When not performing triage maintenance on Marion’s decrepit buildings, the candidate will be “planning”. It’s hard to envision a registered architect or professional engineer would want to fix anything when summoned to the call of duty by the town administrator, to whom this position would report,

Now a candidate with an unrestricted construction supervisor’s license with seven years of experience and who is waiting for construction to pick back up might be interested in such a position as a short term personal financial fix - not a long term career commitment. This probability leads to the reality the town will be overpaying for the “fix-it” person position advertised.

When discussing on what the Department of Public Work’s responsibilities should be for fixing and maintaining public buildings, and the inherent complicating and conflicting responsibilities between the new position and public works, it’s important to discuss support cost. No doubt once a facilities manager is hired the position will require Town Meeting approval to purchase another $35,000 pickup truck with associated annual maintenance and operating cost. How about the cost considerations for tools all of which are going to duplicate what public works already has on hand. Again it’s hard to envision the facilities manager borrowing a hammer from public works.

The other key aspect of the job is supposed to be planning. There is no doubt Marion needs good planning. There is no planning in Marion.  It’s hard to plan when you're fixing stuff.

Rochester just lost its part-time planner. Maybe it’s a good time to engage in discussion on hiring a joint planner. Not a perfect solution by any means, but it might be a step in the right direction. The school already has a good facilities manager on the taxpayer payroll. Consideration should be given to expanding the capabilities of this position. It’s hard to believe the Sippican School needs a full-time facilities manager.

The prognosis is poor at this point for any material change in the direction of the continuing poor management of our town and wasteful spending.  The advertised facilities manager job is just another example.

A permanent annual cost saving of $130,000 can be achieved by eliminating the facilities manager and grant writer positions.

Ted North,
Marion