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DPW Retirement Offers Opportunity for Assessment in Clinton

With the upcoming retirement of Department of Public Works Director Peter Neff, the town has hired an interim director to help reorganize the department.

On Jan. 9, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) announced the town had signed an agreement with Robert Myers, a consultant with the Conference of Connecticut Municipalities (CCM), to serve as interim director. The contract length is three months; Myers will be paid an hourly rate through CMM and will not receive benefits. Myers will be tasked with examining the various areas of the department and then recommending any needed changes.

First Selectman Christine Goupil shed more light on the position.

“Robert Myers will be the interim public work director. The role of the interim consultant is to evaluate the structure of the department and report findings and recommendations. We also have to prepare to transition to a town manager form of government. This will provide the town manager with the road map for areas of long-term strategic planning for the department,” Goupil said.

Specifically, Goupil said Myers will help evaluate the efficiency of the department with items like staffing, workload distribution, and productivity. Myers will also look at areas of the department that may require potential restructuring, and then subsequently make any recommendations about a possible restructure.

Goupil said Myers will then “provide a proposed schedule and detail the actions necessary to implement the recommendations, including impediments and measures to address such obstacles” before presenting the finding to the relevant committees.

A CCM biography on Myers noted he performed similar work for the Public Works departments in Hartford and in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Neff’s last day with the department will be Thursday, Jan. 31.

”I personally would like to thank Peter Neff for over a decade of service as the public works director for the Town of Clinton,” Goupil said. “He has been instrumental in streamlining the department and finding cost saving measures. Due to his diligence and ability to tackle additional challenges, our town has become a better place to live. He has always made our town the top priority regardless of who sits in the first selectman’s seat. This shows in his unwavering commitment during day-to-day operations and throughout his leadership during the many storms. The BOS, Town of Clinton staff, and I wish him all the best in the years to come.”