CARIBOU, Maine — Assistant City Manager Tony Mazzucco has left the building and Caribou City Manager Austin Bleess isn’t sure if he’s going to find a replacement.
“There’s no firm plan at the moment. I think we owe it to the staff and citizens of Caribou to see what we need in the next person. We need to see if we can get by without it. Budgets are always tight and due to the governor’s recent state budget proposal, I don’t think it’s prudent to hire a new assistant city manager before we know what’s coming down the pike,” Bleess said Monday.
If the opportunity does arise and Caribou is able to hire a new assistant they’ll hunt for the right someone, not necessarily local, but ripe with talent.
“The position was created by city council back in 2012 and they wanted somebody who could step in if I took a long-term absence. It doesn’t have to be a person from the area, what matters is their skillset,” Bleess explained.
Manzucco, who served as Caribou’s assistant city manager since January 2012, began a new carreer as town administrator in Adams, Massachusetts earlier this month.
Bleess admits Mazzucco’s goal was to become a city manager at some point and the Caribou position helped him gain the experience he needed. The manager says it’s all up in the air until the state passes a budget and then Caribou will have a better picture where they’ll be at, financially, for the next few years.
In the meantime, there has been a slight shift in duties around City Hall to help pick up the slack and see what changes can be made permanently to ultimately save money.
“We’ve got people pitching in to help out. Any time an opportunity like this arises to look at operations you have to do it,” said Bleess.
Although one position may not be coming back, an exciting development for Caribou is on the horizon.
“We are hiring an events and marketing coordinator to help us attract businesses and create events with the hope of bringing people and tourists back in the area. We’re taking applications, interviews will occur in the next few days, and we plan on hiring somebody by the end of the month,” Bleess added.
