NORTH STONINGTON — In a complex and changing post-pandemic world, filling vital town roles with qualified candidates is becoming a growingly challenging task for community leaders. Serendipitous circumstances may have helped provide the town with the right puzzle pieces to forge ahead with a small, cohesive team.
The small, 12-employee team at North Stonington Town Hall welcomed Susan Cullen, former Stonington director of economic and community development, as the new town planner three weeks ago and will introduce Laura Brown, an established financial and human resources professional who most recently worked with the Mohegan Sun, as the new administration and finance director on Feb. 20.
First Selectman Robert Carlson said this week that the two bring a wealth of experience and knowledge that will provide much needed relief for a staff that has worn multiple hats nearly seamlessly in the absence of the two major town positions.
“To have them join this group we have, which has done so much to fill in during the absence of these roles; I would put this group against anyone in our region of the state,” Carlson said. “People aren’t growing up wanting to be finance administrators and town planners these days, so we were very fortunate to have the opportunity to hire these two.”
Carlson praised the effort of other employees in the absence of these two roles over the past several months, adding that many have offered invaluable services to the community over the years.
“The institutional knowledge that they bring to their jobs each day is amazing,” he said. “So many residents have told me that they appreciate coming to town hall where they are treated with respect, and how thoroughly their questions are answered.”
The added help comes to the town at a time when other communities throughout the region continue to struggle to fill roles. Among members of the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments, many often share resources and lately it has presented a different set of challenges.
For communities in Ledyard, Preston, Lisbon and Bozrah, there has been an emergency need to find a building inspector in recent months after the one shared between the four towns fell and was injured. That position still remains vacant.
Across the border in Rhode Island, towns have struggled in the past two years to fill their own town planner positions. Hopkinton joined the group in October when the interim town planner, Michael Spellman, resigned amid his own run for first selectman in Stonington. While they have retained a contracted position, the full-time role remains vacant.
Pieces fell into place in North Stonington, however, where Carlson said he wasn’t able to offer the highest pay necessarily, but could offer something that other communities could not — a small, family-style work environment that offered both close-knit social interaction and independent working conditions.
“I like to joke around with people that the secret is we eat a lot of cake,” Carlson said with a smile. “Birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions; it is a way of making sure that people feel appreciated in what they do.”
For Cullen and Brown, each who are local residents in their 50s with husbands preparing for life beyond law enforcement, and each coming to town with their own established record of municipal experience.
Cullen has spent over 25 years working in various municipal roles including the past four as the director of economic and community development in Stonington. She is a resident of Pawcatuck.
First Selectman Danielle Chesebrouugh previously stated that Cullen was an instrumental member of the team and recently had aided in acquiring a $200,000 federal brownfield grant to aid with costs in conducting brownfield assessment activities at the former 5.5-acre William Clark Thread Mill site. The town was one of 15 in Connecticut to receive such a grant.
Carlson said she came highly recommended, and the opportunity was one that came suddenly as he said Cullen was recently notified that as Stonington seeks to reduce spending, her contract would not be renewed.
“The circumstances were right, and it is something that I believe will prove to be our gain,” he said.
Brown also brings a decade of experience of her own serving municipal government and worked in Westerly prior to moving to the Mohegan Sun, Carlson said. She has worked in numerous roles within the finance department at Mohegan Sun for the past 18 years and is a resident of Mystic.
She has already sought materials to get up to speed, Carlson said, and he believes she will be more than ready to hit the ground running when she starts later this month.
“As a new first selectman a little over two years ago, I don’t know how I would have managed without this veteran crew,” Carlson said. “Now with the additions of Susan and Laura, I feel that our team is once more fully staffed with experienced employees at every position.”
