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05/31/2024 02:08 PMClinton once again has a full-time town manager. Following a special meeting on May 30, the Town Council unanimously voted to hire Michelle Benivegna. Her first day is Monday, June 10.
After waiting through a quick executive session, a small group of department heads and town officials on hand for the May 30 meeting broke out in polite applause as the council unanimously approved a motion to hire Benivegna to be Clinton’s second-ever town manager.
Benivegna agreed to a three-year contract with a $160,000 annual salary. “We thought three years was fair since that’s what [former Town Manager Karl Kilduff] got. The contract can always be extended,” council member Hank Teskey said after the meeting.
Benivegna is currently the director of economic development and director of administration and management in East Haven. Previously, she served as the town's director of human resources and assistant director of administration and management. According to her resume Benivegna also has a background in fiscal management from her time as an employee at Morgan Stanley.
Benivegna said she was “Eager to get started in Clinton” and called taking the job a natural progression for her career trajectory.
When asked what her first order of business would be, Benivegna said, “I’d like to begin meeting with department heads and start getting the lay of the land. We’ll also hold a meeting with the Town Council to hold a strategic planning and goal-setting meeting.”
Benivegna and Ryan Curley, the other finalist for the position, were in Clinton for a meet-and-greet event held in Town Hall earlier this month. Following that event, the council interviewed the two finalists again on May 22. In the week that followed, the council deliberated on the interviews before making the formal announcement on May 30.
Following the meeting, Town Council Chairperson Carrie Allen said she and the council were “obviously very happy and excited” to announce Benivegna’s hire.
“We see someone who will have a real commitment to Clinton,” Allen said.
Asked what the council liked about Benivegna Allen and council member Brian Roccapriore pointed to her excitement to get to work in Clinton, her experiences in East Haven, and her references.
“She had references from so many different department heads in East Haven that it just shows she’s done a really impressive job,” Allen said.
“She had the kinds of references you wish you could have for yourself. We really feel like we got a long-term employee here,” Roccapriore said.
Council member Chirs Aniskovich read a statement during the meeting which stated in part, “Michelle’s impressive career trajectory in municipal government, including her concurrent roles as director of administration and management, director of human resources, and economic development director, instills confidence in her ability to lead our town.”
Benivegna unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat in the 2019 East Haven Town Council race. As part of their job, town managers are expected to remain politically neutral. Earlier this month Allen said she does not anticipate that being an issue.
“Typically, town managers are registered as unaffiliated, and they should bring no political agenda with them,” Allen said when asked about any concerns about the political leanings of the finalists.
The Town Manager
Benivegna will be tasked with running the town's day-to-day operations. According to a job description posted earlier this year “The town manager supervises most of the town departments and their functions and programs and services. The town manager shall see that all policies set by the Town Council, along with the laws and ordinances governing the town, are faithfully executed. He or she will prepare the Town budget for the Town Council’s approval, prepare an annual report, and provide advice to the Town Council on municipal projects and the financial condition of the Town. The town manager serves as the personnel director/human resources director for the Town.”
A town manager is not an elected position; they are hired by the Town Council, which directs the manager in policy matters.
The town has been searching for a new town manager since January after Kilduff announced at the end of 2023 that he would be leaving Clinton in February for a new job in Wilton. Since Kilduff’s departure, the town has been led by interim Town Manager Richard Brown.
In the weeks following Kilduff’s announcement, the council hired Randi Frank Consulting LLC to assist with the search.
After helping the town develop a job description and advertisement for the position, the firm conducted a nationwide search for applicants and received 22 applications for the town manager position. Ten applicants were asked to complete a further questionnaire, and six candidates were chosen for screening interviews that were recorded via Zoom.
In April, the council reviewed the interviews and invited a smaller group to Clinton for a first round of in-person interviews with department heads in early May. After that, the council narrowed down the finalists to Curley and Benivegna for the second round of interviews.
In the statement Aniskovich read the council also thanked Frank for “her immediate and tireless work on Clinton’s behalf” and Brown for his leadership and guidance” in leading the town as well helping pass a town budget hiring a finance director. The council also thanked executive assistant Mary Schettino for her hard work during the search.