Filiatreault Named Permanent Township Manager

A process to find a new permanent township manager which Councilman Bob Walsh described as “tenuous,” and “arduous” at times came to an end on Tuesday night when Chief Financial Officer and Acting Manager Jeff Filiatreault had the acting removed from his title.

Mayor Bill Gotto said he was glad the process was over and that the township coul dnow move forward with the full administration in tact. “We reviewed a countless number of resumes, conducted interviews, sometimes we got along, sometimes we didn’t but we got to the point that we needed to and I’m glad it’s finally at its conclusion and I’m glad that we were able to find someone within our walls and find someone who we felt was going to do a great job.”

Prior to the resignation of former manager Helene Schlegel Filiatreault was scheduled to retire at the end of January 2014 once the budget for the year had been adopted. When he was named acting manager Filiatreault rescinded his retirement and said those plans are on hold until at least the end of 2014. “I did not go looking for the job,” he said. “It came looking for me.”

Filiatreault said he was “flattered,” by the title change particularly because he had not even interviewed for the position. “I do have a vested interest,” he said in the job. “I’ve been here for 23 years and I care about Howell. We’ve come a long way together.”

The plan now is for Filiatreault to hold both titles which he said makes for a very busy day at the office. “It depends on how good you are to delegate,” he said. “It’s difficult to juggle at times. My calendar this week looks like a video game.” He credited the staffs in both offices with helping to keep him organized and moving the township forward on the administrative and financial sides.

Originally Filiatreault said he was not setting an agenda or goals since he was only the acting manager but he does have some things he would like to do over the course of the year. That includes working to bring sewers to the portion of Route 9 North above Freewood Acres. “I’ve advocated for sewers. I’d like to champion that cause.” With some of the township’s debts set to come off the books next year Filiatreault said this would be a good time to expand the project up the highway. “The timing is right for that financially as well as having a need for it,” he said.  

One area where his two jobs come together is the budget planning for the upcoming year. Filiatreault said his goal is to have a flat tax for residents but admitted “I don’t always achieve that but I’d like to get as close as I can to a flat tax.” Having both titles he said can be a challenge in some ways as well. “I find myself fighting with myself,” he said with a laugh. “We all know what we want. We want to do everything we can as cheaply as we can and we have to balance that to figure out what we can do without raising taxes too much.”

The dual roles also pose challenges during the process. “The worst part is now I have to be the bad guy. People come to me and say we have a need for this and I have to say I don’t know if we can afford that.”

Mayor Gotto said the council interviewed 12 people from outside the township and realized their best option was sitting right down the hall. “We knew what outsiders brought to the table and we knew what Jeffrey brought to the table, but you compare them side by side and make your pro and con list which is very difficult to do in our form of government," he said."We’re a big town and you have a responsibility to get it right.”

There are no plans to find a replacement for Filiatreault in either position yet but Gotto said the township may look for a deputy manager to assist him in his roles. “We’re doing it in steps,” he said. “The first thing was to find the right person.” As for the return of the deputy manager position, the manager said, “We’re trying not to make this difficult. It’s really not that difficult. If Jeffrey finds the right person and the right salary structure and gets it all together I would support that and I think the council would support that.”

In the past few months it looked like the township would undergo a lot of change with the resignation of Schlegel and the pending retirements of Filiatreault and Howell Police Chief Ronald Carter. Like Filiatreault Carter also rescinded his retirement and Gotto said the township will continue operating as it always has. “We all work together and we all work really hard,” he said. “People thought bad things were going to happen and they didn’t happen. We’re glad they’re back but we’re building a good future here. People don’t need to be worried if one or two people in the organization leave. We’ll be just fine.”