NORTHAMPTON — The Hampshire Council of Governments gave Executive Director Todd Ford its stamp of approval Thursday night, unanimously agreeing to a new contract that calls for an annual salary of $123,625.
The salary amounts to a 7.5 percent raise over Ford’s 2016 salary of $115,000, though last year’s salary included a bonus of $25,000. The new contract, which runs through June of 2018, comes with a $15,000 bonus.
The decision Thursday came after more than five hours of meetings by the full council and by its executive committee. Few councilors were critical of Ford’s job performance during public session, despite criticism from some member-towns in recent months about staff turnover and other issues at the organization.
Ford’s performance review before the full council began with Chairman William Barnett reading a summary of written evaluation forms filled out by councilors.
Barnett — on behalf of the board — praised Ford’s leadership, saying he’s done a good job “getting those things he’s been after.” Barnett said Ford understands the mission, that he’s succeeded in marketing the COG and in finding funding to repair the old courthouse where the agency is headquartered.
“I think Todd is doing an exceptional job,” said Diane Bushee, a councilor from Goshen, adding she suspects any issues with staff turnover at the organization stem from a “contentious meeting,” during which a councilor was “very disrespectful.” “I think that’s where it started.”
Vice Chairwoman Eileen Stewart said the COG’s move to a more “entrepreneurial” style likely contributed to the turnover, saying staff leaves more frequently in for-profit industries.
“I think it has been a somewhat bruising year,” she said.
Ford’s leadership came under fire in October when Belchertown leaders penned a fiery letter, ringing the alarm over what they said were high turnover rates within the organization and a lack of accountability for money and time wasted in a failed electricity aggregation bid.
John Trickey, a councilor representing Pelham, said there should be more numbers during the evaluation process.
“I’m used to seeing metrics — I didn’t see that,” he said. Moderator Joseph Kearns called the lack of clear metrics a deficiency “we’re trying to make up for.”
Executive committee members also set “contract goals” for Ford. One of the items called on Ford to find a “new revenue stream.” Upon seeing it, Granby representative Joe Furnia asked Ford if he had any ideas.
“Yeah, we can talk about that in executive session,” Ford responded.
Ford declined to comment about the new contract Thursday.
James Drawe, councilor from Cummington, praised Ford for responding to the need for more revenue. “In my mind Todd has met the goal we set for him outstandingly,” he said.
Stewart said the board “turned a corner” in the past year when it comes to being responsive to the needs of member towns.
“I think we’ll see a whole lot more of that in the coming year,” she said.
The vote came after the council’s executive committee convened four times since Dec. 15.
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.