WINSTED — The Board of Selectmen accepted Town Manager Robert Geiger’s resignation during its regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 21.
Geiger originally submitted his letter of resignation on Monday, Sept. 14.
Geiger, a long-time Barkhamsted resident, first-served as interim town manager for Winsted after Dale Martin resigned in November 2015.
At the meeting, Mayor Candy Perez joked that she didn’t want to go to the meeting’s Agenda Item 11c, which was the portion of the agenda where the board voted to accept Geiger’s resignation.
“I want to skip over 11c,” Perez said. “I don’t want to do 11c. Anyone else wants to do 11c? We don’t want to do 11c. I think that this is a resignation we accept with regret.”
Selectmen Jack Bourque agreed with Perez and thanked Geiger for his service for the town.
“When we chose you, we were just elected to the board, and choosing you was the first responsibility we had,” Bourque said. “You helped us through that first year and have continued to help us.”
In an interview with The Winsted Phoenix after the meeting, Geiger spoke about why he is resigning.
“Before this year is out, I’ll be 76 years old,” Geiger said. “I’m very healthy and I’ve got a lot of things I like to do yet. I’ve been here for five years and think that we’ve moved the town into a very good position. But there is always lots to do. I’m ready to let someone else jump in now and keep moving it forward. We’re in a good position and we have been for a long time. We are doing good financially and we have good economic development, considering how far behind we were. There’s a lot of good things going on and the ship is stable, so to speak.”
Geiger said that he is proud of multiple accomplishments during his time as Winsted’s town manager.
“During my time we developed a good working crew in Town Hall and we created a cultural change that made people feel better about living in Winsted,” he said. “I think we have turned the town around. We have a long way to go, but we’ve come a long way in terms of economic development and stabilization. We have had an increased mil rate since I’ve been here. We’ve got our credit rating back and we are moving on.”
Geiger said that another accomplishment he is proud of is “getting rid of the black humor about our town.”
“People have cracked jokes that we are a backward town that is dirty, slummy, and corrupt with a constant turnover,” he said. “That’s pretty much behind us. We have done marketing and we have tried to make the town look better through a very aggressive blight program. We cleaned up Main Street significantly and we developed some of the old mill buildings. We got the new hospital building going in and we have worked hard to attract small businesses and social services.”
During his professional career, Geiger worked for several companies, at times serving as a CEO and as a vice-president.
Serving as Winsted’s Town Manager was his first experience working in municipal government.
“The basic principles [of being a CEO and a town manager] are similar, but when you are a town manager I think there are a lot more people to answer to,” Geiger said. “When you are a town manager you are not looking for profitability and sustainability in terms of stockholders. The difference is also that you are focusing on a broad range of issues with a lot of diverse clients when you are a town manager.”
When asked what advice he would give the next town manager, Geiger said “Learn all you can about the town. Listen to everybody and return all of the phone calls. Go meet people and talk to them. Understand what they need. Help mediate and negotiate whatever the issues are. Work with them.”
“I think that, in looking for a new town manager, the town should look for a person that has experience in running a business, has some financial skills, and also has good customer service orientation along with a good work ethic,” Geiger said. “The job is way beyond whatever the advertised hours are. Whoever is chosen must take the time to help and work with people.”
Geiger said that Winsted residents have been very supportive during his time in office.
“I find that they are reasonable to deal with once I go out and talk to them about any issue that they have,” he said. “Whatever the problem is, we try to resolve it. They have all been supportive, tolerant, and accepting. The employees we have in Town Hall feel much more empowered since I started here. They feel very good about working in Town Hall now. I think people have taken a lot of pride in their work in their community.”
As for his plans, after he leaves office in December, Geiger said he plans on traveling.
“I used to travel quite a bit to Europe,” he said. “Hopefully after the COVID pandemic subsides I will be able to do that again. I also want to enjoy my property that I have along the river and just enjoy my private time at home.”
Geiger’s resignation is effective on December 31.
In the meantime, at a special meeting on September 15, the Board of Selectmen set a deadline for applications for the town manager position for Friday, Oct. 16.
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