Town Manager Report for the week ending January 30, 2026
I want to thank all of our DPW and Parks and Recreation drivers, mechanics, and office staff involved in snow operations for their dedication and professionalism as they worked continuously over 2 days to make our streets safe and drivable for our residents and business owners. We had a number of our trucks go down with equipment issues, but they persevered and were able to get the job done. They cleared the roads first for the initial access and have continued over the last 3 days to make the roads wider and safer. This storm has shown that we need to invest in our truck fleet like we have for our sanitation vehicles to better serve the residents of Coventry.
On Tuesday I met with the Town Registrar to discuss the operational plans for the two Special Elections occurring on Feb 3, 2026 for Districts 4 and 5 and get an update on the early in person voting. Everything is going according to plan and we will have our two polling locations at Mapleroot Church and the Senior Resource Center open and fully staffed. Please come out to vote and take part in the process.
Also, on Tuesday we had our Finance Committee meeting to review all of the documents supplied by the School Department in preparation for the vote on the Teacher’s and School Related Personnel contracts. Director Civetti also made a presentation on his analysis of their assumptions and areas of the proposal that the Council should look at in further detail. The Committee voted to send the two contracts over to the full Town Council for further consideration. At that meeting I advised the Council that the Town and School have done their due diligence in renegotiating the contract as a result of the grievance on the prescription medications changes that saved the School millions of dollars, presented a sound fiscal note with support documentation, and most importantly an agreement provides cost certainty over the next 3 years that the Auditor General and Chief of Municipal Finance are looking for from us in producing a realistic deficit reduction plan to address the current $4.5m deficit. I believe we accomplished all of that and both contracts were passed.
At the same meeting all Town Directors provided their vision for their budget for the next fiscal year and provided an impressive overview of their duties, responsibilities, and a summary of what their individual departments oversee. We are on a path towards success with the support of the Town Council. More great things to come!!
On Wednesday I attended the beginning of the RDA meeting, all of the School Building Committee, and most of the Planning Commission meetings. I want to thank the Planning Staff and Planning Commission for all of their time and efforts in preparation.