Politics & Government

New Town Manager LeLacheur Settling into Position

New Town Manager Robert LeLacheur took over for Peter Hechenbleikner in early June. Now that he has been town manager for over a month, the volume of work has been the only surprise, he said.

LeLacheur was previously assistant town manager and finance director in town, and was familiar with how the town was run. However, the workload was the only element of the job that took him by surprise.

“It’s really been very busy,” he said.

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Being so busy has been largely due to the fact that LeLacheur has been performing tasks that he would normally have done in his previous role as well as what he is now required to do as town manager.

“It’s a seven day job,” he said. “But it’s okay, I like it.”

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He will be juggling both jobs until he figures out what the town will do long term with his old position.

A lot of residents have told him that they were unaware that there was a difference, which he takes as a compliment, he said.

Future goals

He sat down with the selectmen recently to figure out new goals for the town. They will finalize the goals on July 9, but one that is extremely important to LeLacheur is speaking with the department heads to find out what they think their department should look like. He would like to hear what each department would ideally look like and how each department head thinks they can get there.

“I don’t know what ideas deptartment heads will come up with,” he said.

What he does know is that, “We better not be spending much money, because there isn’t any.”

He plans to have the full discussions with each department head by then end of August and then will bring that information to the selectmen.

He would also like to reach out to the business community to make it clear that the town is a resource for them. He’d like to make sure that every business, especially the new ones, knows about the Fall Street Faire and is prepared for it.

Another goal is to make it easier to communicate with residents and businesses with technology during on and off hours, he said.

LeLacheur is pleased that residents have been welcoming, if they notice a change, and said that Reading is a great place to be.

“We’re all very fortunate,” he said. “It’s a very good town to live in. There’s good people here.”


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