Petty eager to extend Augustus' contract

WORCESTER — Mayor Joseph M. Petty said he will be pushing to have City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr.'s contract extended in the wake of the very favorable job reviews from the city council.

Mr. Petty said Wednesday he will be asking the City Council Municipal Operations Committee to take up an item pending before it, in which the council has authorized it to initiate negotiations with Mr. Augustus on a contract extension that would run through Oct. 3, 2020.

His current contract runs through Oct. 3, 2017.

In a news release, Councilor-at-Large Michael T. Gaffney, who was critical in his evaluation of the manager, called Mr. Petty's contract extension proposal a "politically motivated" attempt to keep the contract from becoming an election issue.

"They also don't want to be faced with this should we see yet another poorly mismanaged winter. People lose elections over issues like that. Distancing their re-election bids from the consequences of their vote would be advantageous," he said. 

"Let's face it, Ed Augustus is earning nearly a quarter million dollars from the taxpayer's in Worcester. He isn't going anywhere in the short term," he said. "There is no need for an early contract extension."

When the idea of extending the manager's contract was initially broached in January, Mr. Petty suggested that the council hold off on those talks until after its annual evaluation of the city manager's job performance.

With the manager's evaluation now behind the council and Mr. Augustus having received mostly favorable reviews, Mr. Petty said the time is right to initiate contract extension talks with the manager.

The mayor said he hopes that an extension can be agreed on and finalized before the end of the summer.

"I will be asking the Municipal Operations Committee to take a look at this," Mr. Petty said. "The time is right for it. Ed has done a terrific job leading this city since becoming city manager (in January 2014), and I think it would be in the best interests of the city if we can extend his contract now so he remains as our city manager a while longer. ... He is making a difference. I think it’s an exciting time.”

Under the manager's current contract, the City Council is not required to notify Mr. Augustus until Jan. 1 as to whether it intends to negotiate a subsequent agreement with him or allow his contract to expire.

But based on the results of Tuesday night's evaluation, it is evident that a clear majority on the council would like to see Mr. Augustus stay on as Worcester's chief executive beyond his current contract.

Nine of the 11 city councilors rated Mr. Augustus' job performance, mostly or overall, as having exceeded their expectations.

Five council members said they felt his overall performance "exceeded expectations." They were District 2 Councilor Candy-Mero Carlson, Councilor-at-Large Khrystian E. King, District 3 Councilor George J. Russell, Councilor-at-Large Kathleen M. Toomey and Mr. Petty.

Three other councilors, District 1 Councilor Tony Economou, District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera and District 5 Councilor Gary Rosen, each rated the manager's job performance as having exceeded expectations in the areas of financial management, economic development, and management efficiencies and improvements.

But they rated Mr. Augustus' performance in the area of delivery of public services as "meets expectations."

Meanwhile, Councilor-at-Large Morris A. Bergman rated the manager's job performance as exceeding expectations in two areas, financial management and economic development, while rating it as meeting expectations in the areas of management efficiencies and improvements, and the delivery of public services.

One of the more repeated criticisms had to do with the problems that arose last winter with the city's snow plowing and sanding operations. There were also calls by some for more staffing in the Department of Public Works and Parks.

Councilor-at-Large Konstantina B. Lukes rated the manager's overall job performance as "meeting expectations," while Councilor-at-Large Michael T. Gaffney gave Mr. Augustus the most critical job review, saying his overall job performance "needs improvement."

Mr. Augustus said he appreciated the praise, criticism and suggestions he received from city councilors.

"I take it seriously,” he said. “I pride myself on listening to what people have to say and trying to find ways I can improve my performance. This process, while I wouldn't say it’s a comfortable process, it's an important process and one that I appreciate. I’ve heard all the feedback, and we will certainly go to work trying to incorporate that in the way we deliver services to the people of this city.

“My responsibility is trying to bring people together, try to solve problems and try to move this city forward,” he added. “We certainly don’t get it right every time, but I do know that we are trying as hard as we know how. We are focused only on what is right for the city, and making sure that no one is left behind.”