ANDOVER — Town Manager Reginald 'Buzz' Stapczynski hasn't had a raise in 18 months and selectmen are about a year behind in giving him his annual review.
But he's not taking it personally.
"I typically get my compensation package reviewed and approved after several collective bargaining units have been settled," said Stapczynski, who makes $132,600 a year.
Most recently, Stapczynski settled a three-year contract with the 37-member police patrolmen's union and the 10-member Public Safety Dispatchers unit. Still on the negotiating table are five more contracts — with the Independent Employee Association, AFSCME, firefighters, department heads and police superior officers. Those negotiations should be settled some time this fall, according to assistant town manager Steven Bucuzzo.
"We're moving fast to try to bring these things to closure," Stapczynski said.
The delay in Stapczynski's raise and review schedule highlights at least one major criticism leveled at him by selectmen in their annual reviews of his 2007 performance, his handling of union talks.
Selectmen wrote those reviews last fall and compiled them into a summarized review which they discussed with the town manager in June during a public forum. Last week, in response to a freedom of information request by The Eagle-Tribune, Selectman Brian Major released the reviews written by each member of the board.
Four of the five members gave Stapczynski a rating of "2" for how he handled union negotiations and collective bargaining, one of six criteria they graded him on. A grade of "1" is the lowest, meaning "unsatisfactory," with "2" meaning "needs improvement."
Selectmen Chairman Ted Teichert said: "Negotiations tend to be a difficult task. An outside vacillator (sic) may be the answer. The length of time is a bit worry (sic) some. Although it does take two to dance."
Selectman Mary Lyman said, "I find the negotiations process to be lengthy and constantly grinding gears. I think we could benefit from professional help here. We need a fresh approach." She added in her summary, "Buzz needs to have more management positions for negotiations and openly discuss a more strong negotiations plan."
Selectman Gerald Stabile had the strongest criticism, saying the town manager needs to be "more assertive," adding that "a leadership role in these negotiations is critical to reaching mutually agreeable contracts." He went on to say that "Buzz must take a more definitive position to move the decision along ... as the chief executive officer for the town the responsiblity to make decisions and move forward is a critical aspect of affective negotiations ... Buzz must make more timely decisions and take ownership of these decisions to become a more affective negotiator for the town."
Only Major praised Stapczynski for the way he handled negotiations, giving a grade of "3," which means "meets expectations."
"Buzz did a satisfactory job of holding the Selectmen's position with the various union entities," Major wrote. "This enabled us to settle each of the contracts at the level that we originally agreed two (sic) nearly three years ago. The delay in settling the contracts was based on the individual unions desire to gain additional benefits."
Stapczynski said yesterday that he viewed the comments on collective bargaining as "constructive feedback." He said one of the reasons for the delay in getting contracts approved was that the firefighters' and police superiors' unions, for example, went into mediation, "which slows the process down."
Selectmen confirmed that the delay in getting the town manager's 2008 review done and giving him raises for 2007 and 2008 were due at least in part to the union issue.
"We wanted him to focus on finishing the firefighters' contract," Major said. "Finishing contract negotiations was an issue."
He noted that more recently the town "has turned a corner in being able to complete the patrolmen's and dispatchers' contracts on a more timely basis." The patrolmen's contract expired more than a year ago, so the first year of the three-year pact was retroactive.
Major also said that Stapczynski was able to negotiate some cost-saving measures into the recent contracts that addressed long-term financial burdens, like health insurance and sick-leave buyback provisions.
Major said he hoped the board would be able to conduct a salary review for 2007 by the end of this summer, while also simultaneously conducting his performance and salary reviews for 2008.
However, he noted, "the chairman still hasn't requested the 2008 reviews."
Teichert, the chairman, said he didn't know when he would be seeking the 2008 reviews, but expected to do the raise reviews simultaneously.
"There was so much stuff going on," he said, referring to a rocky budget session earlier this year. He said the delay has nothing to do with Stapczynski's performance.
"It's not a positive or a negative," he said.
Stabile said while "there were ongoing issues that were a factor in the review, more to the point, we have not been aggressive enough in getting the damn thing done."
According to Stapczynski's contract, he is supposed to be reviewed based on a set of specific criteria developed jointly by the town manager and the board by Sept. 1 each year. The board is then supposed to provide the town manager with a summary of findings in July each year.
For 2007, the board missed that deadline by nearly a year, reviewing his fiscal 2007 performance at the end of fiscal year 2008. For fiscal year 2008, the board was supposed to have issued their review by July 1, 2008. The town is now six weeks into fiscal year 2009.
The only selectman who has written his 2008 review of Stapczynski is Major, and he declined to make it public, saying it hasn't been seen by any of the other selectmen or the town manager.
Stabile noted, "I'm not going to point fingers, but I don't think the level of urgency around getting it done was exhibited by the board."
Stapczynski makes $132,600 a year, including $4,000 in pre-tax income that goes into a pension fund and $2,100 for long-term disability and life insurance. He also gets a town car — a 2000 Buick LeSabre for business and personal use — and is eligible for bonuses depending on his performance, according to Stabile. His raises are also supposed to be based on his performance, according to his contract.
Under a five-year contract that expires in 2010, he also gets 30 vacation days and 15 sick days.
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Comparing town managers' pay
Town#Salary
Andover#$132,600
Tewksbury#$139,800
Danvers#$149,542
Reading#$120,900
