FRAMINGHAM — A panel of volunteers tasked by Mayor Yvonne Spicer with helping institute her vision for the city is recommending several new hires to round out the mayor’s staff.
The mayor’s 12-person transition team recently released its recommendations on how best to put Spicer’s campaign platform into action.
Their suggestions, summarized in a 19-page report, touch on subjects ranging from developing the municipal budget to establishing lines of communication with the mayor during a crisis.
In the realm of staffing, Spicer’s panel called on the mayor to create a handful of new positions in her office, including a communications director; an executive assistant or scheduler; a director of government affairs and policy; and a chief diversity and inclusion officer.
Spicer appears poised to heed the transition team’s advice. The city is currently advertising for two of those jobs: a senior policy adviser; and a senior adviser for external affairs, who will help oversee "all aspects of the Executive Office operations," including identifying policy needs, building coalitions to support legislative initiatives and "mitigating crises."
Both jobs are advertised with salaries in the range of about $71,000 to $92,000.
The senior adviser for external affairs will be the primary liaison between city government and Framingham’s state and federal elected representatives, and will “play a critical role in assisting the Mayor and City Council leadership in ensuring the legislative business of the City is running smoothly,” according to a job description.
“This is an exciting opportunity for an individual with drive, good judgment, and political experience to dive directly into the center of Framingham’s new government sphere,” the job description reads.
The two jobs will add to a roster of new positions already in the pipeline. The city charter adopted by voters in April instructs the mayor to fill three new jobs, which are designed to help manage day-to-day operations, direct legal affairs and give citizens a voice in government.
The Chief Operating Officer, akin to an assistant town manager, will be responsible for overseeing a variety of city departments. The city is currently advertising for the COO position, which will carry an annual salary of $131,475 to $151,697. Funding for the job will come from the money previously set aside in the budget for Framingham’s assistant town manager, a job that was eliminated when the new city government was established on Jan. 1.
Spicer's transition team recommends appointing an interim COO for six months and working with the COO to establish a process for recruiting and vetting candidates for the position.
The mayor’s panel also recommended Spicer immediately hire a city solicitor, who will serve as Framingham’s top lawyer, and rethink how to implement the position of Director of Neighborhood Services, an idea Spicer proposed during the campaign.
In her platform, Spicer wrote that the director would organize meetings with neighborhood associations to discuss issues such as development, public safety and education and use feedback from residents to influence the city’s policies.
The position aligns closely with another role already established by the charter, citizen participation officer. The participation officer would be responsible for working with city employees, boards and committees to enhance public engagement, answer questions, field complaints and ensure the city meets all public notice requirements.
Spicer “must determine if these positions are the same or different,” the transition team wrote, and decide whether the employee picked for the job will serve in her office or another branch of government.
The transition team, a volunteer advisory board, began its work in early December. Members included former Charter Commissioner Adam Blumer, Framingham Economic Development and Industrial Corporation Chairman Mike Gatlin and Susan Nicholl, executive director of the MetroWest Visitors Bureau.
“I am so grateful to this talented Transition Team for the time and effort they invested in putting together this report which I feel is balanced, and offers insight and tangible suggestions on implementing my Vision Plan,” Spicer said in an announcement. “There is a lot to be done as Framingham truly begins to function as a City, this report is a good first step in getting us there.”
Below is a summary of other recommendations from the Transition Team’s report:
• Within six months of taking office, merge the Planning Board and the Conservation Commission staffing and administration to form a new Planning and Community Development Division, as described in the charter.
• All municipal boards and committees appointed by the mayor should reflect the diversity of the city. The mayor should implement a Diversity and Inclusion Vision Statement, and hire a chief diversity and inclusion officer.
• Ensure municipal investments are equitable across the city. Pursue an “economic and cultural re-imaging” of Framingham’s village commercial centers.
• Work with City Council to develop an ordinance that would prohibit Councilors from serving on other City Boards such as the Planning Board, or Zoning Board of Appeals.
• Begin procurement process for Mayor’s 311 service with the goal of a fall 2018 launch.
• Coordinate with School Department and pertinent City department heads to identify cost savings and areas of overlap. Investigate the feasibility of combined, streamlined purchasing.
• Work with early childhood education providers, private and public, to identify available services and increase the availability of pre-kindergarten programs in the city.
• Appoint a business ombudsperson to serve as the “go-to” individual assisting with all business-related inquiries.
Jim Haddadin can be reached at 617-863-7144 or jhaddadin@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JimHaddadin.