Mayor’s personnel shuffles in response to Votour resignation

By Catherine Rogers

In an internal e-mail announcement to city hall employees, Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone unveiled a series of staff changes Wednesday, Feb. 15 that went into effect yesterday.
Michael Buckley, administrative aide to the mayor, will step down from his position and into the role of acting superintendent of highways, electric lines and lights. He will replace Joseph Voutour, who submitted his resignation to Curtatone Feb. 13.
Voutour could not be reached for comment.

   Michael Lambert of SomerStat, the city‚Äôs service operations assessment group, is set to step in for Buckley, pending approval from the Board of Aldermen.
Buckley most recently worked alongside Janice Delory, who will now serve in the newly announced chief of staff position to deal with department heads and city operations.
   Delory will not receive an increase in pay.
   The personnel changes allow the city to spread the most effective leadership throughout the administration, said Curtatone of the effort to ‚Äúchange the managerial culture of all the city departments.‚Äù
    For two years Buckley has consistently clocked 60-hour work weeks, he said, and anticipates another unwavering commitment at the Department of Public Works.  ‚ÄúI‚Äôm looking forward to getting my hands dirty,‚Äù he said, adding that his love for learning will come through as he assimilates into his new post. ‚ÄúI hope it‚Äôs different every day.‚Äù
    The 19 percent pay raise will likely make his long days easier to swallow.
    Last year, the city moved to consolidate the superintendent positions of highway and lights and lines into one job, ultimately saving around $30,000 from the annual budget.
He will leave behind projects such as Assembly Square development, and rebuilding of the Lincoln Park school and Dilboy baseball field for new tasks including sidewalk and electrical communication amenities.
    When asked what he would miss most about his job, Buckley said it would be working so closely with a person who put the city before all else. ‚ÄúMy love of the city was overshadowed by [Curtatone‚Äôs]. I always thought that I was a hard worker but he‚Äôs a bulldog,‚Äù he said.
    ‚ÄúHe was a very good manager,‚Äù said Curtatone. ‚ÄúI have to replace a good person with another good person.‚Äù
     In his new post, Lambert will liaise the mayor‚Äôs office and the governing bodies of the city, including the Board of Aldermen and the School Committee. Previously a project manager for 311, the city‚Äôs one-stop service request hotline, Lambert most recently worked as a senior employee at SomerStat.