http://rutlandherald.com/article/20141127/NEWS02/711279947
Springfield Select Board Chairman Kristi Morris, left, reads a town proclamation honoring retired Town Manager Robert Forguites. Forguites recently retired after 20 years of service to the town.
Photo: Susan Smallheer / Staff PhotoPublished November 27, 2014 in the Rutland Herald
Town thanks Forguites for long service
By SUSAN SMALLHEER
Staff Writer
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield officially gave thanks this week to retired Town Manager Robert “Bob” Forguites for his many years of service.
In a proclamation read Monday evening by Chairman Kristi Morris, paid tribute to Forguites “unwavering dedication” to the town, first as the town’s finance director for four years and then town manager for 16 years.
Morris, who has worked with Forguites for the past five years, praised Forguites’ unbroken string of town budget approvals, and said his work submitting “fiscally conservative” spending plans had earned the town’s trust and support.
“He has served the town of Springfield working diligently all hours of the day and night for the betterment of our citizens and residents, often without exhausting his accumulated earned time off, holidays or vacations,” Morris noted.
“He has annually presented fiscally conservative town budgets, advocated for their adoption as openly and transparently as possible and, over his 16 years of holding the manager’s position, has a 100 percent voter approval success rate,” Morris said.
Forguites stepped down as town manager last week when new town manager Thomas Yennerell took office. Forguites is continuing to work with Yennerell until the end of December or until he leaves Springfield for the State House.
Forguites, 75, was elected earlier this month to one of Springfield’s two House seats, replacing longtime Rep. Cynthia Martin, D-Springfield. Forguites, a Democrat, will serve with Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, who is the dean of the Vermont House.
Morris read the proclamation, which he wrote with the help of several town employees, at the end of Monday night’s Select Board meeting. Forguites kept his eyes cast down, and looked abashed.
Morris read a list of some of the accomplishments or projects completed during his years as town manager, from 1998 to 2014.
The accomplishments ranged from overseeing completion of millions of dollars of water and sewer infrastructure improvements, reconstruction of state bridges and helping to negotiate the state agreement overseeing construction of the state’s newest prison in Springfield, which brought the town millions of dollars in economic incentives, as well as the town being named “hometown” of “The Simpsons” in a national contest.
After congratulating him on his election Nov. 4, Morris said the town knew he would continue to work for the town on the state level.
“We extend to him an open invitation to return regularly and report often, much like he has asked all other state representatives before him,” Morris said.
I realize that decorum often dictates some sort of proclamation of appreciation for services rendered, but after 20 years of watching a town in decline, I can't help but observe that this is just another example of feckless "public servants" (insiders) falling all over themselves to embellish their records in order to pat each other on the back. When is the last time the taxpayers of Springfield got any credit or any thanks for having dug deep into their pockets year after year to shell out the coin required to keep mediocre managers like Forguites in tall clover? History will record that construction of the "Forguites Prison" sounded the death knell to a town whose only other notoriety was being proclaimed as the "official hometown" of a family of cartoon losers. Instead of a pat on the back, perhaps a kick in the ..... would have been more appropriate.
ReplyDeleteVery well said. Thanks for articulating sentiments so many of us only feel.
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