GRANBY — Ron Aponte prefers to play in the political game rather than sit on the sidelines.
That’s why, after growing up on the political sidelines in Springfield’s mayor-council system, he seized his opening once he moved to Belchertown 30 years ago. The town’s Town Meeting-style democracy pulled him onto the field, and he became a prominent player after serving on the Select Board for 21 years.
Although his Select Board days are behind him, Aponte is still participating in municipal politics. Only now he’s coaching from across the table as Granby’s town administrator.
“It was really kind of a natural fit.”
Ron Aponte, Granby Town Administrator
The team Aponte now leads has been through some rough years marked with unstable leadership. But if he can create a sense of comradery among the municipal staff, Aponte sees a bright future ahead for the town of about 6,200 residents.
“We have a couple short-term hurdles that we are addressing, and we’re in the process of overcoming,” he said. “I think once we get beyond that, we can concentrate on some of those longer-term goals and objectives, and [then] I think we’re in good shape.”
Aponte is succeeding Tammy Martin, who was on the job for six months. The Select Board fired Martin for alleged rude behavior toward employees and neglecting her financial tasks. Martin is contesting her dismissal as a violation of her contract and Open Meeting Law. The case is currently in arbitration.
During Martin’s short tenure, the financial records for fiscal year 2025 were not sent to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. The town narrowly avoided state takeover when former Town Administrator Chris Martin, of no relation to Tammy, returned to finish the job.
Underling recent challenges in Granby is lack of cooperation between departments, Aponte said. Staff said information, data and even frustrations were often siloed between departments, preventing success of the administration. Aponte’s first goal is to move the culture of town government toward teamwork, acting as a conduit for communication until it becomes natural.
“There’s a lot of good people in key positions,” Aponte said. “Now it’s just a matter of getting everyone to come together, recognize you’re on the same team, and follow a path in a direction that everyone agrees is the way to go.”
This is especially key with school leadership. Aponte dislikes the “us verse them” mentality between the town and school district, and has already worked to open communication with the schools. Just recently, Aponte suggested the school department study the condition of Granby Junior Senior High School to assess potential remediation. The schools, in turn, have offered their campus to help assemble trash carts for the new USA Trash and Recycling system.
However, more challenges await. Retirements are on the horizon for several key members of Granby’s leadership. The federal and state mandates to address the Forge Pond Dam will create a major capital expense for the town. Then, there’s the constant fiscal pressure of rising costs and stagnant revenue.
“We’re probably looking at a year-over-year increase of approximately 2%,” Aponte said. “Trying to keep your expenses to 2% or less is very difficult.”
As a Belchertown Select Board member, Aponte said he was known for being “a little tightfisted from from a fiscal standpoint.” This conservative approach will carry into his new duties. He is prepared to make tough choices, and he encourages staff “step up” and take on new responsibilities for the town.
“We don’t have the luxury of having any dead wood,” Aponte said. “Everybody’s going to carry their weight because it’s going to show up in a small environment like this.”
Before he moved into town administration, Aponte worked as an information technology manager at MassMutual for 30 years. His private sector experienced informs his approach to public service, as many of the management responsibilities overlap. For instance, Aponte is already planning for the physical move of town offices to West Street School based on his previous challenges moving with MassMutual.
Granby is familiar to Aponte. Living just across the town line, he knows the layout and leadership well, and often attends Charter Days each June.
“It was really kind of a natural fit,” Aponte said.
