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| Welcome New Town Administrator Joe Colangelo |
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(Hinesburg, VT – March 21, 2011) – The Hinesburg Selectboard
is pleased to announce that Joe Colangelo is Hinesburg’s new Town Administrator. Although, as Middlebury Vermont’s Assistant Town Manager, Joe came to Hinesburg from only 24 miles away, his selection as our new Town Administrator is the result of a national search from which he was determined to be the best choice for Hinesburg. |
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The process began in January with the posting of the position in Vermont newspapers and with the Vermont League
of Cities and Towns. The position was also listed nationally with the International City/County Management
Association (ICMA). As a result we received applications from all over the country, although the bulk of the
response was from New England and from the Mid-West. |
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In early January the Selectboard appointed seven members to a Town Administrator Selection Committee. The purpose
of the committee was to assist the Selectboard in selecting and hiring the new Town Administrator. They appointed
two Selectboard members, Ken Brown and Andrea Morgante, two staff members, Frank Koss and Alex Weinhagen, two
citizens, Debra Howard and Victor Morrison, and our current Interim Town Administrator, Hank Lambert. By January 28th, the deadline for applications, the town had received thirty-three resumes. The Selection Committee determined that only five candidates met the minimum requirements for the position, and conducted phone screening interviews with all five (one was local; four were out of state). One candidate was deemed unsuitable after the first phone interview; two more were deemed unsuitable after an additional phone interview. The committee then invited the remaining two candidates to come in for two-hour interviews with the selection committee (one flew in from out of state), and also asked them to take Microsoft Word and Excel tests designed and administered by members of the committee. After debriefing the interviews, and reviewing the test results, the committee unanimously agreed to forward to the Selectboard both candidates as strong finalists. In only three weeks time the Selection Committee, by meeting multiple times per week, sometimes as early as 7 AM, had narrowed down thirty-three candidates to two finalists for the Selectboard to consider. The committee is to be thanked for this rather remarkable accomplishment. On two separate days, March 9th and 10th, the two final candidates came to Hinesburg. Because both candidates were currently employed and there was a need for some discretion about their application for this position, their visits were conducted without a lot of fan-fare. Both were here for a full day of interviews, conversation, meets and greets, and tours, so that the Selectboard could thoroughly vet each candidate. Department heads and staff were able to have some time with them, and we were able to show off our wonderful town and ensure that the final candidate had a positive impression of our town. This visit allowed the candidate to see the various departments – fire, police, highway, water and wastewater, zoning, etc. – and to be impressed by the professionalism of our department heads and other town staff. It also, of course, allowed a significant amount of time for the Selectboard to interview the candidate. At the conclusion of those visits, the Selectboard agreed with the Selection Committee’s assessment that both candidates were exceptional and would serve the community well. One, however, seemed an especially good fit for our town and a superior choice for Hinesburg. That candidate was Joseph Colangelo, who was at that time the Assistant Town Manager of Middlebury, Vermont. The Selectboard was impressed with Joe’s candor and his responses to our questions. They were impressed with his dedication and his ability to listen to and communicate with the town staff. They felt his four and a half years of experience managing local government organizations in Vermont would serve him well in Hinesburg as would his resume of public service. His Master’s degree in Public Administration, and his professional and educational experiences, and his conduct and responses during the interview process indicate that he has developed a strong repertoire of knowledge on how to effectively manage local government in Vermont. At the March 21, 2011 Selectboard Meeting the Selectboard presented Mr. Colangelo with a Letter of Employment as Hinesburg’s Town Administrator, which was signed during the meeting by members of the Selectboard and by Mr. Colangelo. He plans to start as Hinesburg’s Town Administrator on April 4, 2011. Joe Colangelo grew up in the University town of Iowa City, Iowa, and did his undergraduate work at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, and at Hunter College in New York City. He completed over 2000 hours as an AmeriCorps Member, receiving several awards in the process, as well as becoming certified as a National Wild Lands Forest Firefighter. Deciding to focus on a career in municipal management, Joe received his Master of Public Administration degree from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany with a concentration in Public Finance and Economics. The Vermont connection for Joe began in 2006 when he was selected for a one year internship program in Barre Town. Under the tutelage of Barre Town Manager, Carl Rogers, Joe put together the Fiscal Year 2008 Budget for the town, reviewed contracts, RFPs, and bid packages for various public works projects. At the end of that internship he was hired, out of over fifty applicants, to be Middlebury’s Assistant Town Manager, with a focus on Financial and Human Resource Management. As Assistant Town Manager in Middlebury for the past 4 ½ years, Joe was the Acting Town Manager in the Town Manager’s absence. In his role as Financial Manager he has overseen, managed, and developed the annual budgets for the town. He developed and managed three consecutive budgets with no property tax increase. He was the Financial Manager and Financial Planner for the Cross Street Bridge Project, designing and implementing the financial plan for this $16 Million capital project. He negotiated $9 Million agreement with Middlebury College and implemented a 1% Local Option Tax in Middlebury, and acquired $16 Million in debt financing via the Vermont Municipal Bond Bank to pay for the building of the Cross Street Bridge in a manner that would not impact tax rates. The bridge opened to traffic in October 2010 after decades of discussion about the need for it and how to pay for it. As Human Resource Manager, Joe was responsible for meeting the HR needs of 54 full-time and 40 part-time employees, and was an active participant in the negotiations of the Union Contract. Apparently not one to shy away from professional and community involvement and responsibly, Joe’s list of professional appointments and volunteer positions is impressive indeed! They include:
Hinesburg, on the other hand, is sure to be in a better place. The Selection Committee, the Town Staff, and the Selectboard have great expectations. I am sure all Hinesburg residents will join in welcoming Joe Colangelo to Hinesburg as our Town Administrator. – Ken Brown, Selectboard and Selection Committee Member |
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