Rochester town administrator hits the ground running with new approaches

Aug 14, 2014

Rochester’s new town administrator is looking to get bike racks for the town, revamp its website and cut down on the the number of employees authorized to spend big money. All that and he was only officially sworn in on Monday, Aug. 11.

Mike McCue began working on a part-time basis in mid-July. On Monday, he informed Selectmen that he’d already spoken with most of the town’s department heads.

“I’m looking toward instituting a monthly report from each of the department heads,” McCue said. Saying it would keep unexpected issues from arising while not taking up too much time for town leadership.

“Nothing too elaborate,” he said.

McCue also wants to get new bike racks for the town through a program with Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District. In his previous position as town administrator of Avon, McCue secured four racks with the town only paying shipping costs.

“If we’re able to make sure we cover the cost of shipping, I think it’s something we should look into,” he said.

McCue added that he also plans to meet with SRPEDD’s director to see what resources might be available for Rochester.

In other areas, McCue discovered that Rochester’s procurement procedures are “out of date and numerous.” In town, a handful of people are authorized to make large purchases in a number of departments. McCue said he wants to reduce the number of authorized procurement officers.

He said he wants to “whittle that down to only two or three people” who would have the authority to make large purchases for the town.

Another item on McCue’s “to do list’ is making changes to the town’s website.

“I think there are more functionalities to add to the website,” said McCue.

He acknowledged that the town doesn’t have a budget for revamping the site, but said he would look into options.

Finishing up his report to Selectmen, McCue said he’s been getting the lay of the land.

“I’m just reaching out there and making connections.”