April 24, 2008

Yarde says to try again to get city manager

Businessman Craig Yarde had this to say today:

I think since Minor, Cockayne, MaCauley, ane Ward have stated publicly that they support a town manager rather than a COO. They would have a majority to pass it on as a referendum next November. Personally I have always preferred a council/ manager form of government rather than the present proposed strong mayor COO council form proposed by the Charter Revision Committee. But I think the committee compromised in order to take a step in the right direction considering the last four Charter Revision Committee proposed some form of a town manager form of government and it always got knocked down by the town council. Last week when I called thirty business leaders and fellow Bristol taxpayers some said the COO didn't go far enough. Others said any change would be better. Yesterday, I called the ICMA which stands for the International City manager Association, which I'm a member of. They indicated they would not support this COO position and would not send anyone from Washington to support it. They only support a town manager council form of government. So the Council, Committee and mayor should get together and make the changes to a Town manager/council so all taxpayers can benefit.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

38 comments:

Steve Collins said...

I don't think McCauley and Ward necessarily support a manager either. They just said that a COO is not what the charter panel was supposed to investigate and that the justification for it isn't there.

Anonymous said...

Go Craig Go!

Anonymous said...

Sorry Craig .....

Your proposal makes sense , so .....

That just ain't gonna fly in Bristol .

Anonymous said...

Mr. Yarde,

Get off your soap box already. If you cared that much about Bristol you wouldn't have moved your business to Southington.
You were quick to leave when the industrial park didn't happen quick enough but yet you think you know what's best for Bristol?? Who's interest are you really looking out for? I suspect only your own (again).

Anonymous said...

YARDE KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK DONT LET GUYS LIKE RIMKOWSKI BOTHER YOU. HE IS GUIDED BY STORTZ AND PETOSA. TWO BEAUTIES.

Anonymous said...

I give Criag credit for researching, finally, and finding out that his push was not he correct one.

Now I would ask that he do more research on the local level to find out more about how it would, or might, be implemented and the possible ramifications.

He might get his eyes opened so more.

Anonymous said...

If Craig only knew what happens on a daily basis at City hall his hair would curl. Or should I say, doesn't happen. And it mostly starts with his good pal Rosenthal being the poster child for ineffective management and performance.

Anonymous said...

Yo.....YARDE CHEELEADER GUY! Get a life.

Anonymous said...

Who wants the job? Yarde ?

Anonymous said...

I have no interest in any position in the city government. I personally don't think I qualified and I don't have the time. Steve, I think you should publish the job description for the proposed COO in the Bristol Press so everyone can see the value and benefit of having a qualified individual can help this community. We are not talking a junior version, hire a couple of aids, hire an assistant which have been stated by some in the present management team (councilman/mayor).
We're talking about a highly educated individual, with experience in government and much more. I don't think we need more bodies on the management team but rather we need a gray haired guy or gal with experience that will bring a better balance to the management . After all the value of creating a good team is everyone is on board to obtain the goals and objectives that the majority of the community wants. It's not that complicated. We need customer satisfaction surveys mailed to each taxpayer to fine out what they really want and were they want to go in the future. Then the management teams fine the best and most cost efficient path to obtain these goals. Craig Yarde

Anonymous said...

I've seen it mentioned a couple of times that the city would be looking for a "well educated" or "highly educated" person for this position. What type of educational background would they require? Some sort of master's in political science or public policy? Would government and public sector experience trump education? There are plenty of council members, state reps and senators, etc., who don't have a college degree or much government experience going into the job. Would the town manager position have to meet a higher educational/professional background standard?

Also, I currently live in Windsor, and we have surveys that are sent to random town residents every year. It's a fairly comprehensive survey that rates our feelings on public works projects, educational spending, and the like. For a fiscal conservative such as myself, it's a nice way to vent and get my voice out there, but I'm not sure how much those surveys are taken into consideration by our mayor and town council.

Collin

Anonymous said...

Craig Yarde, he's our man!

If he can't do it,

NO BODY can!!

Anonymous said...

Craig Yarde, dumped our town.

Now he thinks he knows what's best for us???

What a clown!

Anonymous said...

(3) Any candidate for the COO position shall i) have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four year college/university in government/ public administration/business/ related field. (a bachelor’s degree is required a master’s degree is preferred; ii) have at least four years experience as a COO or city manager or equivalent position; iii) provide four work/employment related references.

(4) The COO hiring committee, among other qualities it may consider, should give preference to a candidate it finds: i) has experience with administration, supervision of personnel, strategic planning, budget preparation, team building and negotiation skills; ii) has strong communication and interpersonal skills, strong verbal, written, and analytical skills.

[Any typo's or syntax errors are in the original.]

As you can see, the "qualifications" are non-existent. Any degree, in any field, with any amount of experience will qualify you. Lenny Valentino is waiting in the wings.

Anonymous said...

Seems to me that since the people elect leaders because of what they stand for and what direction they want to lead the City in (theoretically at least) then we will lose that with any type of COO/manager.

He will be locked in to employment by a contract which gets expensive to litigate should the city want to get rid of the guy. Example: Rosenthal, need I say more????

At least in the present form, we get to hire and fire every two years at the polls.

Anonymous said...

Collin Sequin:

I'm glad you live in Windsor.

Please stay there.

Anonymous said...

@ 3:55 pm:

Thanks for the info on the qualifications. The comments of some of the council members make more sense now.

Anonymous said...

To 4:26 PM poster: you are a mean-spirited, small-minded simpleton...I guess it's just too much to expect that people with different points of view will be treated civilly by others on this blog.

Anonymous said...

"He will be locked in to employment by a contract which gets expensive to litigate should the city want to get rid of the guy. Example: Rosenthal, need I say more????"

I think we can assume the City Council is at least as smart as you, and will take that into consideration when they write the contract and include a very clear early termination clause.

Anonymous said...

Is Block holding his tounge on his support of the position? When will he speak up?

I sense that he will hold out until the meeting just to keep everyone on their toes - because he can.

The right thing to do would be to make his views known now. He's playing games.

Anonymous said...

He doesn't know what to do. He's afraid to ask Ellen (or she won't answer).

Anonymous said...

Tell me, what has Craig Yarde done for the city the past 20-30 years?

Giving money is easy when you have a lot of it, but what has he given of himself?

Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm missing something, but why is there such anti-Yarde sentiment? It seems that he and his family did a lot for the city; they worked hard, built a business from the ground up, and ended up being able to give a lot of city residents a lot of jobs over the years.

I can understand not wanting a Monday morning quarterback on political issues, but I didn't realize there was so much sentiment against him in Bristol (if the posts on the board are an accurate cross-section).

Then again, I haven't lived in the city for a few years, so I may be out of touch on certain things. That's one of the reason I like reading this blog; I still have a lot of family in town, so I like to read up and see what's new in Bristol, and this is a good way to catch up.

Also, @ 4:26 pm - I don't think I have said anything too crazy, but if you don't want me living in your city, you're entitled to your opinion.

Anonymous said...

cseguin said...
Maybe I'm missing something, but why is there such anti-Yarde sentiment?
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My best guesstiment would be it has to do with Bristol throwing that little old lady out into the cold for him and him expanding his operation into Southington and not waiting for the newly acquired land .

But that's just my guess.

Anonymous said...

The sentiment is because Yarde forced the city to get into the Bugryn property mess, and when the issue didn't get resolved fast enough for Yarde, he moved his shop out of town, leaving the city stuck with the property and a horrible legal mess.

Some can forgive that, but they are mad that this guy all of a sudden makes it sound like he has the solution to city government when he hasn't ever been involved for all these years and knows very little about government, yet suddenly he thinks he's the expert.

Anonymous said...

4/25/08 6:24 poster said:

"I think we can assume the City Council is at least as smart as you, and will take that into consideration when they write the contract and include a very clear early termination clause."

Can we really make that assumption? I state again to look at Rosenthal that whole thing was screwed up and no one knew what to do with him.

Any attorney worth his salt will tell you that there's no such thing as "very clear" or "iron clad" contract -- especially an "early" termination clause as you suggest -- and nothing that will prevent a wrongful termination lawsuit.

The City Council doesn't have a strong track record on these things.

Craig said...

"Can we really make that assumption? I state again to look at Rosenthal that whole thing was screwed up and no one knew what to do with him.

Any attorney worth his salt will tell you that there's no such thing as "very clear" or "iron clad" contract -- especially an "early" termination clause as you suggest -- and nothing that will prevent a wrongful termination lawsuit."

Apples and oranges. Rosenthal is in a union, and the City had no documented grounds to justify firing him - the guy had never even been suspended for any of his screwups. A COO, on the other hand, would not be in a union and his contract could certainly have a buy-out clause. I'm told this is not uncommon for city manager contracts. It's not free, but it avoids expense lawsuits.

Anonymous said...

I don't think that what you are seeing is an anti-Yarde sentiment, but a reaction to an idea which has problems, suggested by someone who really hasn't been involved so as to understand the issues, and now, compounded by the fact that his support for a COO is not supported by Town Manager organizations, which indicates he lacks some understanding of the positions.
Craig is a nice guy: I don't think it is personal, but just a legitinmate response.
Bottom line, his credentials while pertinent in other areas, are somewhat weak at best, in this area.

Anonymous said...

@ 2:32 and 3:14

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

I GUESS YOU PEOPLE THINK THE SMART ONES ARE RUNNING CITY HALL. NO WAY THE UNION IS AND THEY ARE AFRAID OF YARDE BIG TIME.

Anonymous said...

4/27/08 9:58 Poster Said:

"...his contract could certainly have a buy-out clause."

Thank you for making my point for me. Pay someone to not work?! Ludicrous! It doesn't cost anything to vote.

Anonymous said...

Craig Yarde knows what he's talking about.

Go Yarde go!

Anonymous said...

A COO or Town Manager is not a cure all. They would still have to work within the bargaining agreements, which the city council approves.
What we need is support for those that do try to do the job (been sorely missing)rather than to make changes to hide behind.

Anonymous said...

Craig, I see your buddy Rosenthal's project hit another screw up.

WHO is overseeing it?

How many screw up can occur before someone asks "who is in charge?"

Anonymous said...

This proposal is dead. The Dumb-o-crats don't want to give up their control.

Anonymous said...

12:02

The right thing for the wrong reason!

Anonymous said...

I JUST LOVE ALL YOU ANONYMOUS PEOPLE WHO LEAVE MESSAGES WHY DONT YOU JUST MAN UP AND PUT YOUR NAME DOWN WHEN YOU LEAVE A RUDE COMMENTS - INSTEAD OF HIDING BEHIND YOUR KEYBOARDS LIKE LITTLE WIMPS -
-----GO YARDE YOU ROCK-----

Anonymous said...

CRAIG YARDE IS DREAMY :)