Town Council Gives Kilduff a Raise
At a special meeting on Nov. 6 the Town Council agreed to give Town Manager Karl Kilduff a 3% raise.
Minutes from the Nov. 6 special meeting show that the Town Council, along with Kilduff, went into an executive session partly to discuss a personnel matter. The council came out of executive session to announce a 3% increase for Kilduff effective Jan. 20, 2023.
Kilduff’s previous salary was $171,666, making his raise $5,150 and the new total salary $176,816.
Speaking after the meeting, Town Council Chairman Chris Aniskovich said that since the bulk of the meeting took place in executive session, he could not get into specifics of what was discussed. Aniskovich said that as part of his contract, Kilduff is entitled to a review and raise.
Since officially taking office as Clinton’s first town manager in January 2020, Kilduff’s tenure to this point has been quite eventful. He has had to lead the council through the bumps of ironing out the defined role of the new Town Council, endured contract negotiations and a budget process, is helping the town through finding a new use for the Pierson School, and of course, dealt with the unprecedented challenges the town has faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He’s done a great job and we’re lucky to have him,” Aniskovich said to the Harbor News.
Aniskovich said that despite Kilduff having been in place for close to four years, there were still some people who wondered about the exact role of a town manager and talk about whether or not Kilduff should be in the public eye more.
Aniskovich said that if one were to look at the other towns in Connecticut that have a Town Manager/Town Council form of government, people would see that the manager is responsible for the day-to-day workings of the town, but is not necessarily the face of the town.
Instead, the chairperson of the Town Council, who is elected, serves as the ceremonial head of the town and is more visible at town events or political matters.
“I think we need to understand that the person who works in this job, whether its Karl or eventually somebody else, is an employee who you don’t necessarily want [to be] involved in political situations nor is it fair to put them in those situations,” Aniskovich said.
“The more people understand this, the better. If you look at the Town Council meetings, I think his manager’s report speaks volumes for what it is and how much he does,” he added.
The motion to approve the raise passed with Republicans Dennis Donovan, Carol Walter, Aniskovich, and Tom Hollinger voting in favor of the raise. Meanwhile of the Democratic members of the council Chris Passante voted against the motion, and Hank Teskey abstained. Carrie Allen was not present for the meeting.