All Aboard!



From the Worcester Telegram
October 12, 2010

Administrator told to be in by 9 a.m.
STURBRIDGE — While he doesn’t punch a time clock, Town Administrator Shaun A. Suhoski is expected to be at his desk at 9 a.m.

Selectman Mary Blanchard said she’s heard what amounts to complaints from residents who’ve attempted to visit the town administrator only to find he wasn’t in. She termed the issue a serious matter and said she wanted Mr. Suhoski in the office at 8 a.m., when Town Hall opens.

But other board members said the previous administrator wasn’t held to such a rigid standard and agreed that 9 a.m. is a reasonable compromise. Selectmen were working to set goals for the administrator when the matter came up and dominated about a half hour with discussions.

Thomas R. Creamer, chairman of the board, said he’d heard similar comments and saw the time restriction as a “condition of employment” rather than a goal, but believes that time frames don’t determine how productive a person might be.

Mary Dowling said she didn’t want to set up a situation in which Mr. Suhoski might think he didn’t have to be in until 9 a.m. because there might be days when he needs to be in earlier.

“Nine is what we’re going to aim for,” she said.

Mr. Suhoski said he was sorry the matter took up so much time. He said that over the summer, when he did not have to drop off his children at school before his hour-long commute from Gardner, he did become lax and usually arrived at work by 10 a.m. and left in the early evening. His time sheets, he said, show he most always works more than 40 hours per week.
— Kim Ring

OK, I get it, based on the article above, we're all being taken for a ride on the Silly Train to Morontown.  That is the only explanation  I can come up with to justify why the subject in the article should ever come up.  Secondly, why would the subject ever make it to the newspaper?  Someone must think we all overdosed on Stupid Pills, and we'll accept most any kind of behavior here in town.

Now, bear with me, I have no clue as to what happens behind closed doors when a new job is explained to folks when they are hired, or what goes into their contracts.   I am on this damn train with the rest of you, and someone else is driving it.  One would think, better yet, one would know, that basic things like what days to show up at work, and what time to show up, and how to  long each work day was would be explained, and those things would also be written down in something like, oh , I don't know, like a contract.  Things like that happen in the beginning along with the directions on where to park their car.

The Town Administrator is not at his desk when the town hall opens for business each day?

Excuse me?

And, how long has this been going on?

One Select person is quoted as saying, " Nine is what we’re going to aim for" in regards to the time they expect the Town Administrator to be at work.

"...we're going to aim  for"?

Now, here comes the common sense.

If you agree that the new hire can come in late because they need to drop off their kids at school before they get to work, then so be it, you agreed, and hired them under that stipulation.  However, if the school bus duties were not used in the summer, and they still took their time coming to work, then we have a problem.  And, please, don't even mention an "hour long commute" again.  It's a simple fix.  Move closer, or leave earlier.  Or, avoid that entire issue, and apply only to jobs with a shorter commute.  Simple.

Oh, another thing, you don't "aim for" anything that is a condition of employment, you say it, and the expectation is set.


Coming to work as a Town administrator at 10:00 in the morning?  And, he stated, he leaves early in the evening?  Well, duh, 6:00 PM is early in the evening, and that is eight hours for the day, not counting lunch. 
 
Thank goodness the rocket scientist isn't the one driving this train.

Wait a minute, I think he is.