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Billerica town manager will consider staying, despite furor over comments

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 17, 2009 02:51 PM

By David Abel, Globe Staff

The town manager of Billerica, who resigned this week after being pilloried for his negative comments about the town, told selectman at a town meeting Tuesday night that he will consider rescinding his resignation.

Williams

Earlier this week, William F. Williams said his words were taken out of context and that he was just trying to prod local officials to take action to spruce up the rundown parts of the suburb north of Boston.

Williams left this morning on a previously planned vacation to Florida. He was on a plane this morning and could not be reached.

But selectmen said he received a vote of confidence last night and that some local officials want him to stay.

“It would be too strong to say he rescinded his resignation,” said Andrew Deslaurier, vice chairman of town’s board of selectmen. “He said he would take some time and evaluate his future with his wife. He said when he comes back from vacation, he will tell us which direction he would move in.”

At last night’s meeting, selectmen passed a motion that put off accepting Williams’s resignation for one year.

Deslaurier said he disagreed with Williams’s comments but that he would like to see him remain on the job, which he has held for less than a year and which pays $135,000 a year and $250 a month for car expenses. Williams also received $4,000 to move from his last job in upstate New York.

“The remarks were definitely regrettable,” Deslaurier said. “Did it rise to the level that he needed to quit or be fired? I don’t think so. He issued an apology, and I thought that was enough. I was ready to move on with the people’s business.”

He added, “I’m happy to have him stay.”

Over the past few days, Williams has faced a flurry of criticism from neighbors after saying the town lacks "curb appeal" and doesn’t “photograph well,” among other less-than-flattering comments about Billerica.

In an interview Tuesday, Williams said he didn’t feel pressured to leave but resigned because he felt selectmen were piling on for political points. He said he was upset selectmen planned to discuss his comments at last night’s town meeting.

“I made this decision in reaction to the events that have occurred,” Williams told the Globe. “I’m talking about the manner in how it was dealt with by people, such as the selectmen. Two wrongs don’t make a right. I always accept responsibility for my actions. I thought that was a point of courage, and a point of honesty, and integrity. And if that isn’t valued, I’m in the wrong place. I really am. I’m not going to end my career that way.”

He also defended the thrust of his comments about the 354-year-old town of 40,000 people, which he made at last week's Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce Municipal Breakfast.

“I was mainly talking about the area around the Billerica Mall, where stores are closing, roofs are leaking, and much of the property poorly kept,” Williams said. “I meant to talk about the center and the litter we don’t pick up, the deteriorating roads, things not cleaned because there aren’t enough services. I meant to talk about the need to pave roads and the poorly maintained parks, the vacant property, and the owners of them who need to do more.”

But some selectmen said Tuesday they didn’t plan to urge him to stay.

Marc T. Lombardo, chairman of the board of selectmen, said he wouldn’t try to persuade Williams to change his mind.

“If he doesn’t feel this is the right place for him, there’s nothing I can do to change that,” Lombardo told the Globe. “At this point, it is what is, and we’ll work to find a replacement. I can’t force someone to be here if he doesn’t want to be here.”

David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.