For the second time this year, the Town of Waterford is looking for a human resources director - one of the highest paid positions in town with among the most responsibility.
In February, long-time Waterford Human Resources Director Barbara Aube retired. In May, the town hired Adrienne DeLucca to fill the spot, but this will be DeLucca’s last week as she has taken another job, First Selectman Dan Steward said.
Unlike many towns, Waterford has one human resources director to oversee both the Board of Education and the municipal government, which covers about 600 employees in all. DeLucca was the first lawyer the town had hired to fill that spot, and paid her a $120,000 annual salary - $12,000 more than Aube was making.
In previous interviews, both Steward and Superintendent Jerome Belair praised DeLucca, with Steward encouraging Patch to do a story on the good work she was doing. Despite leaving after just five months on the job, Steward continued to praise her.
“I would have loved to have her stay longer,” Steward said. “But it has to be the right match for everyone. And if it isn’t the right fit, it is better to do what we are doing.”
What Now
In previous interviews and at previous town meetings, Steward said DeLucca was bringing a “new perspective” to the way the town was planning to negotiate contracts. On Tuesday, Steward reiterated that, saying DeLucca accomplished a lot in a few months on the job.
“She brought an awful lot to the table,” Steward said. “We learned an awful lot about the town, things we haven’t done that we should do… She’s very intelligent, very appropriate. And understands more about labor than most people.”
Without her, the town will have to again search for a new human resources director. Steward said he would “maybe” contact some of the people the town interviewed the first time around.
Steward said he would be open to be hiring a lawyer again, or otherwise somebody who had extensive experience in human resources. He said the salary would be negotiable.
“It is dependent on what it is out there,” Steward said. “I’ll take what comes down the pike.”
In the interim, Steward and Belair will act as human resources directors for the municipal government and the school district, respectively.
