This Week’s Letters to the Editor

Editor’s Note: The Letters to the Editor section in the Woodbridge Town Chronicle is a place where community voices can be shared and heard. In the print newspapers of years past, letters to the editor were often the liveliest section, where readers spoke directly to one another, the broader community, and its leaders. To submit a letter for consideration please refer to the submission guidelines.

Concerns raised about use and cost of outside consultants

To the editor,

In a budget year as challenging as this one, I would encourage town leaders to look for ways to save taxpayer dollars.

Last month, the Board of Selectmen approved $17,500 (in a 4-2 vote, with Selectmen Marrella and Urbano voting no) to hire an Executive Search consultant to recruit a new Town Administrative Officer. One task for this consultant is to write the job description for the position. I question the need for this type of outside consultant for this level position.

Last week, I learned that town leaders are separately considering hiring an HR consultant. [Editor’s note: See March 4 meeting agenda.] From my understanding, this new consultant would focus on writing specifications for the roles of town hall workers and possibly board members.

I have served on multiple boards and committees, both in my professional field as well as town government. In my professional field, we were always tasked with drafting our own job descriptions. We were all capable of this task and succeeded with it. I would strongly recommend that this be the approach. I have seen how many consultants have been hired in various forms for the town. In my experience, very little from the consulting project is used in any way that has been worth the money paid to the consultant.

We need to remain vigilant of the town’s spending given the persistent rise in our taxes each year and the ever-increasing costs of running the town. There are certain tasks that can and should remain in-house, and this is one of them. Spending more money on consultant fees is a poor use of our resources. I urge town leaders to strongly consider an avoidance of excess expenditure for tasks that our competent and capable staff can accomplish themselves.

— Stephanie Pennington, Ph.D.

Editor’s Note: Letters reflect the perspectives of their authors. They are published to foster dialogue about issues of local concern, including questions of governance, transparency, and accountability, as well as topics such as highlighting upcoming or past events from community groups. To submit a letter for consideration please refer to the submission guidelines.