By Chris Cassidy
A state commission named Swampscott Town Administrator Andrew Maylor the new chairman of the Essex Regional Retirement Board yesterday, replacing the embattled Timothy Bassett.
But the fate of the board's chairmanship is far from clear. The Essex Regional Retirement Board is suing the state, arguing it doesn't have the authority to replace its chairman.
As a result, all eyes now shift to a hearing in Middlesex Superior Court scheduled for Thursday. Last month, a judge ruled that any state appointment must be put on hold, pending that hearing's outcome.
Nonetheless, Maylor emerged the top choice out of 10 candidates during yesterday's meeting of the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission in Somerville.
Maylor, who lives in Lynnfield and has served on retirement boards in Chelsea and Winthrop, said he wanted to bring the focus of the board back to assisting workers and retirees and protecting the interests of the towns and agencies that fund the system.
"I look at this as an opportunity to turn the page," Maylor said. "I really want to bring the board into a new day where we can promise the people that fund or participate in the system that we'll be available and visible and make sure we comply with the laws and with common sense."
Maylor declined to criticize the board or Bassett when asked about the board's actions over the last few years. Bassett, meanwhile, would be able to keep his post as executive director of the board, where he earns a salary of $134,250.
"I'd expect Mr. Bassett will ultimately respect the decision of the court and the need to serve the individuals who are in the system and will step aside with grace and dignity and professionalism and will work with the board for as long as he's the executive director," Maylor said.
PERAC used a points system to rank the candidates, then narrowed the list down to three finalists: Maylor, Middleton Town Administrator Ira Singer and Saugus Town Manager Andrew Bisignani.
"Mr. Maylor, it appears, is the choice of this commission," Chairman Domenic Russo said.
Singer, Ipswich Town Manager Robert Markel and Essex retirement board member Kevin Merz were among the dozen onlookers.
PERAC took up the Essex chairmanship after a state audit revealed that Bassett was never properly re-elected to the post when his term expired on Dec. 31, 2008.
State law stipulates that if a chairman is not chosen by the four other board members, PERAC shall appoint the chairman.
Lawyers for the retirement board, however, argue the law was intended mainly to help settle stalemates.
Last month, Judge Thomas Murtaugh sided with the retirement board, at least for the moment. He issued a temporary restraining order, granting the retirement board's request to bar the state from naming a new chairman.
But the judge also allowed the state to continue the selection process, making any new appointment subject to the outcome of Thursday's hearing.
That means Maylor will have to wait for the judge's decision before knowing if he'll be allowed to serve.
Meanwhile, the head of PERAC criticized the retirement board during yesterday's meeting for spending just eight minutes discussing its response to a state audit that raised 23 separate concerns.
Executive Director Joseph Connarton called the board's actions "disheartening."
Connarton also asked PERAC to weigh in on two bills introduced last week — one by Sen. Bruce Tarr, the other by Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry — that would reform parts of the pension system and specifically target the Essex Regional Retirement Board. PERAC will discuss those bills at its next meeting on March 23.
Ten candidates vied for the board chairmanship: Maylor, Singer, Bisignani, John Boris, John Burke, Andrew Gould, Dean Harrison, Donald Hause, John Slattery and William Thoms.
Bassett was not a candidate for the job.
Meanwhile, Maylor said he wants to bring transparency back to the board.
"I'm really looking forward to it," Maylor said. "I really think if we operate professionally and openly, I think in the not-too-distant future, we can return the focus to being a highly functioning retirement board and not open the paper every day to something that might distract us from what we're supposed to be doing."
Staff writer Chris Cassidy can be reached at ccassidy@salem news.com.
