CCM Interviews...

We sat down with Mary Calorio on her exciting new endeavor

We often extol the virtues of shared services here in Connecticut. The ability for towns and cities to provide all services, all the time, isn’t necessarily a bad thing of course—but is it the most efficient way to do so? Are there ways that services can be provided that would give individual municipalities a better product for less money? Is there a way to beat the “Brain Drain” affecting so many positions in our state?

CCM called Mary Calorio, the outgoing Killingly Town Manager, as she embarks on a novel idea in Connecticut—the shared Town Manager for Canterbury, Chaplin, and Pomfret. We talk about the challenges in working for three towns and what benefits she expects.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

CCM: You are stepping into a new role, a first of its kind in Connecticut. How did the idea of “Shared Town Manager” even come up?

Mary Calorio

Mary Calorio: John Filchak [Former Executive Director of the Northeaster Connecticut Council of Governments] has been presenting this to the COG for at least five years, but what allowed it to gain traction was a couple of losses in First Selectmen roles. Some would probably be equivalent to professional management because they have done 10 or more years, but towns and especially the smaller towns need continuity of projects. If there were some transition, how can staff and projects continue to move forward without losing ground?

CCM: At the time of this interview, you are still the Town Manager of Killingly, what challenges do you expect leaving the Town Manager role for one town to Town Manager for three?

Calorio: I have an entire staff I wish I could take with me—they have such a great regional view, a great resource view.

CCM: That regional view is important, but towns and cities can be fiercely protective of their local character, how can you preserve that?

Calorio: To be able to do that, you have to know each community, right? And not each community has the same goals or objectives, it does take a lot to be able to learn and understand. But I do have a little experience in that territory.

I had changed roles from Putnam as Town Administrator to Killingly, so what I did was Putnam during the day and Killingly at night because Putnam was in the middle of their budget process, and I won’t leave something undone.

So you just have to know what are the goals of each community, what is the outlook, what is the vision? And knowing when you’re in Canterbury, I have a Canterbury hat on. And the communities I have, they are all independent, they’re all unique in their own ways. They have a lot of the same vision, right? They have a desire to maintain a rural characteristic, to not have huge growth in government, but also maintain a certain level of services.

CCM: Will this concept work outside of the Quiet Corner, where towns are small?

Calorio: Yeah, I think to some extent, yes. When we get to bigger towns, in the northeast corner that is Killingly, the model might be ineffective. But smaller towns, nobody can exist without sharing components of ourselves.

CCM: How would you sum up this endeavor?

Calorio: So, I wish there was like one tagline—like what is this? I know a lot of people have looked at me and said, “You’re gonna be the town administrator for three towns, have you really lost your mind?”

But I do think this is a great new initiative, and I think it’s going to be hopefully something that gets modeled elsewhere and even change some of the dynamics in our state.

CCM: We look forward to that, and maybe we can talk again in a few months after you’ve been on the job for a few months?

Calorio: Absolutely.

CCM: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, and we wish you the best. As always CCM will be there for you.

Calorio: Thank you!