Sunday, July 20, 2008 12:20 AM EDT
Turo plans to retire in November
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Westerly’s town manager has been in office since 2003.
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 Joseph Turo, seen at his swearing-in ceremony, will retire as town manager in November. LARRY ST. PIERRE / THE SUN |
WESTERLY — Town Manager Joseph T. Turo is planning to retire after Election Day.
Turo, 69, announced his intent to retire at a special Town Council meeting on Thursday evening. He said he will step down Nov. 5.
In November, Turo will have held the top Town Hall position for five years, not counting the six months he served as interim town manager in 2003.
On Friday, Turo said he felt the time had come to retire, but he wanted to complete this council’s term. The timing makes sense, he said, because the newly elected council will be organizing and making appointments.
“I would really like to spend time with my grandchildren,” Turo said. He has nine grandchildren, the oldest of which is 12 years old.
Town Council President Mary Jane DiMaio said the news was expected: “We knew it was coming, but we didn’t know exactly when it would be announced publicly.”
Councilors agreed Thursday to begin a national search for a new manager immediately.
“With everything up in the air in politics and the economy… the townspeople deserve a smooth transition and that is exactly what this council will proceed to do. This council has the expertise to go in search of a new town manager, and will,” DiMaio said.
Councilors plan to resurrect and reconstruct the advertisement used in the town manager search five years ago. The 2003 ad sought a candidate with at least three years of municipal administrative experience and an appropriate degree, The Sun reported at that time.
DiMaio said councilors hope to have a new manager in place within two weeks of Turo’s departure. In the current fiscal year, the manager’s salary is listed as $111,137. The position is budgeted at $115,027 for the 2009 fiscal year.
Turo has a long history with the town. He served as town solicitor in the 1970s and late 1980s, and was re-appointed to the position in December 2002. In April 2003, he was named the town’s first full-time solicitor.
Later that month, following the departure of former Town Manager Pamela Nolan, Turo stepped in as interim town manager. Councilors hired Turo to be town manager in September 2003, following a national search and two rounds of interviews.
Turo described his tenure as manager as challenging and said, “I think we’ve accomplished a great deal.”
He said he, his staff and the council have operated as a team that has made significant fiscal progress, including growing the town’s fund balance, or surplus; receiving increased bond ratings; and being able to “toe the line,” or keep increases modest, on the tax rate.
Several major construction projects including the new police station and highway garage, as well as improvements at the transfer station, have also seen approvals in the past five years, Turo added.
DiMaio said the council wishes Turo health and happiness and she thanked him for his years of service to the town.
“The town has benefited from his expertise and ability to network, and his caring attitude for all the people of Westerly,” she said.
edupuis@thewesterlysun.com
Turo, 69, announced his intent to retire at a special Town Council meeting on Thursday evening. He said he will step down Nov. 5.
In November, Turo will have held the top Town Hall position for five years, not counting the six months he served as interim town manager in 2003.
On Friday, Turo said he felt the time had come to retire, but he wanted to complete this council’s term. The timing makes sense, he said, because the newly elected council will be organizing and making appointments.
“I would really like to spend time with my grandchildren,” Turo said. He has nine grandchildren, the oldest of which is 12 years old.
Town Council President Mary Jane DiMaio said the news was expected: “We knew it was coming, but we didn’t know exactly when it would be announced publicly.”
Councilors agreed Thursday to begin a national search for a new manager immediately.
“With everything up in the air in politics and the economy… the townspeople deserve a smooth transition and that is exactly what this council will proceed to do. This council has the expertise to go in search of a new town manager, and will,” DiMaio said.
Councilors plan to resurrect and reconstruct the advertisement used in the town manager search five years ago. The 2003 ad sought a candidate with at least three years of municipal administrative experience and an appropriate degree, The Sun reported at that time.
DiMaio said councilors hope to have a new manager in place within two weeks of Turo’s departure. In the current fiscal year, the manager’s salary is listed as $111,137. The position is budgeted at $115,027 for the 2009 fiscal year.
Turo has a long history with the town. He served as town solicitor in the 1970s and late 1980s, and was re-appointed to the position in December 2002. In April 2003, he was named the town’s first full-time solicitor.
Later that month, following the departure of former Town Manager Pamela Nolan, Turo stepped in as interim town manager. Councilors hired Turo to be town manager in September 2003, following a national search and two rounds of interviews.
Turo described his tenure as manager as challenging and said, “I think we’ve accomplished a great deal.”
He said he, his staff and the council have operated as a team that has made significant fiscal progress, including growing the town’s fund balance, or surplus; receiving increased bond ratings; and being able to “toe the line,” or keep increases modest, on the tax rate.
Several major construction projects including the new police station and highway garage, as well as improvements at the transfer station, have also seen approvals in the past five years, Turo added.
DiMaio said the council wishes Turo health and happiness and she thanked him for his years of service to the town.
“The town has benefited from his expertise and ability to network, and his caring attitude for all the people of Westerly,” she said.
edupuis@thewesterlysun.com
Creamy wrote on Jul 26, 2008 5:56 PM:
" I think the Town Manager should:
RESIGN NOW! "
RESIGN NOW! "
Westerly Lover wrote on Jul 26, 2008 4:40 PM:
" Please hire someone who has the leadership, eeducation and experience to lead a Town that has over a 70 million dollar budget and hundreds of workers. Pay them well but hold them accountable for results. No political insiders or people with no experience but have friends on the Town Council. This job is too important and over 20 thousand people depend daily on the manager to make a good decision. Again- pay well but demand alot. Town Council if you hire an ice cream man we all will scream and vote you out and you can work for the ice cream man "
Locals only wrote on Jul 24, 2008 12:49 PM:
" Who better to address the Town of Westerly's issues than a local. The last thing we need is an RISC affiliate from FLorida, or wherever they call home, to come into our town and subjugate it's citizenry! Time for a mayoral form of government in Westerly!! "
Incredulous wrote on Jul 24, 2008 8:35 AM:
" Hire a REAL Town Manager this time who has REAL town administrator/manager qualifications. No Westerly natives or insiders need apply. "
louise wrote on Jul 23, 2008 9:19 PM:
" hope the current town solictor does not apply for it--alot of us have issues with him "
Jeff Whaler wrote on Jul 22, 2008 12:05 PM:
" Best of Luck Joe! See ya at the Casino! Jeff Whaler "
You're all Ignorant! wrote on Jul 22, 2008 9:20 AM:
" Do any of you know the chemistry behind the MIOX system? You obviously have a computer as evidenced by your posts, why don't you look up and educate yourselves on how the MIOX system works and get back to me. As far as Randall's problem, I'm sure he's got an entirely seperate problem!! I'm not too sure of Randall's intelligence though.... Are you sure you're hooked up to the Town's water supply Randall or do you have a well?? "
Anne wrote on Jul 21, 2008 9:16 PM:
" Regarding "Poor-Randall": Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're all "ignorant" (as you like to say) Mr. "Re:"/"Poor-Randall"/whoever, who makes a living on TalkBack bashing other commenter’s for sport. The leader for the MIOX system was always Chris Duhamel (you didn’t know his name?), BUT, it is the Town Manager who is ultimately responsible for the MIOX system. Poor, poor, poor Poor-Randall............ "
Poor Randall wrote on Jul 21, 2008 5:36 PM:
" Randall....you must be mistaken....the MIOX system was the "brainchild" of the so called engineer (as he calls himself repeatedly)that sits on the town council. Blame this intelect that sold everyone on the system. Joe went by what the town told him to do.
Do your homework...MIOX for brains!!! "
Do your homework...MIOX for brains!!! "
Sally wrote on Jul 21, 2008 11:47 AM:
" If you cut the salary you get what you pay for: inexperience and lack of knowledge. Is that what Westerly deserves? I am for paying for more experience and knowledge. The Council should put in performance reviews in oder to obtain merit bonuses for all town employees not just the manager. "
Olivia wrote on Jul 21, 2008 8:06 AM:
" I hope this guy is not getting a "good-ole-boy" retirement plan on the backs of the Westerly Taxpayers, although I wouldn't be surprised. The Sun should find out what his package is so the Taxpayers can rally against it if it is excessive. "
Taxpayer wrote on Jul 20, 2008 8:55 AM:
" How can the town be adding new econominic development director and dpw positions? What happened tp budget crunch and level funding? "
Fire District owner-John wrote on Jul 20, 2008 6:52 AM:
" let's eliminate chief of staff position also--
and this new DPW position that mr. turo is adding in the next week or so---why do these things
hope that dusty's ice cream man is not the next manager "
and this new DPW position that mr. turo is adding in the next week or so---why do these things
hope that dusty's ice cream man is not the next manager "
Randall wrote on Jul 19, 2008 4:22 PM:
" The water coming from my kitchen faucet has a distinct odor and unusual taste lately. Is that something we can thank Joe and his MIOX system for? "
Anti-RISC wrote on Jul 19, 2008 8:28 AM:
" Congrats on your retirement Joe. Now all we need to do is keep the RISC people at bay, you know, the ones who think they're qualified to do any job on Earth including Town Manager. While the search is 'National' I feel we need to address the possibility that we move to a Mayor type government, where the Mayor is elected by the constituents of Westerly..... The Mayor would also have to be a resident of Westerly "
SAVE SOME $ wrote on Jul 19, 2008 8:25 AM:
" Let's save some money this time. Why do we always hire a new Town Manager at the outgoing salary and benefits of the previous Manager? I believe in proving one's self. Why not hire at a lower salary, cut back on those vacations, and then allow for raises and more vacation time based on merit? Anything wrong with that? In other words, COUNCIL, PLEASE, negotiate a brand new contract! Not to do so is just plain laziness. "
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