By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Today is Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio’s last day in the second floor corner office at Town Hall. As he retires after 17 years at the helm, Maio joins a distinguished line of men like John J. McCarthy and Thomas P. Butler who had long careers serving as the town’s chief executive officer.
Maio reflected this week on his time as Town Administrator, a period he described as “extremely rewarding, enjoyable and very satisfying.”
He said that the job has afforded him an opportunity to better know those who work for the town and to see how well they do their jobs and care about the town.
As an example, he cited the current strike by employees of trash collection contractor, Republic. The strike has left many towns scrambling. But in Wakefield, DPW Director Joe Conway and his department were on top of the situation and are doing trash and recycling collection using town-owned and rented trucks manned by DPW staff.
“The taxpayers paid for the service and they should get it,” Maio said.
As a general matter, he added, most people are appreciative of the work that the town does and are willing to make constructive suggestions. He insisted that most of what was accomplished during his tenure was a group effort.
“It was all of us together working for the betterment of the community,” he said, including not just boards and committees but also local citizens at Town Meeting.
“I’m pretty happy with where we are today,” he said.
While he dislikes the word “legacy,” Maio said that he hopes that his administration will be remembered for always trying to “make tomorrow better than yesterday.” He cited the construction of new schools, improvements to the public safety building and the institution of improved government processes.
He is especially proud of the increase and improvements in social services, including the addition of a mental health clinician at the Police Department and the expansion of the Health and Human Services Department.
“We’ve poured more into social services,” he said. “I hope we are listening more to people who feel disenfranchised and haven’t had a voice.”
As someone who grew up in Wakefield, Maio said that one of the biggest changes he’s seen is all the new development. But he observed that it is happening everywhere.
“Wakefield is a wonderful community and people want to move here,” he said. With that comes more traffic, more school enrollment and societal issues, he admitted. But he stressed that it also creates more opportunity for growth and vibrancy in the community.
He said that the town has made efforts to mitigate some of development’s negative impacts, like traffic, by providing more opportunities for walking and non-motorized transportation.
One of the things that Maio is most proud of is how the community came through the pandemic. Unlike some communities, Wakefield never stopped delivering services, he noted. The town quickly transitioned to Zoom, allowing town boards and committees to continue to meet and conduct business. He praised the willingness of town staff and the public to embrace new systems.
Asked how the town was able to avoid Proposition 2 1/2 overrides during his tenure, Maio was again quick to share the credit.
“We scrutinize every line item in every budget,” he said, working with the Finance Committee and department heads. Maio said that he stressed to his department heads that they would not be penalized in next year’s budget for being frugal this year. He also cited new growth and a good relationship with the School Department as factors in avoiding overrides. He recalled that for a number of years the town didn’t even increase taxes by the full 2 1/2 percent allowed.
Asked what advice he would offer to his successor, Maio didn’t hesitate.
“Trust yourself, trust your department heads and don’t micromanage,” he said. “Have a sense of humor and don’t take offense at everything. And don’t look at a lot of social media.”
Maio said that his greatest regret is that the town did not do a better job of messaging support for a new downtown parking garage. A garage would have made a big improvement in downtown parking and helped with other issues as well, he maintained.
He also worries about the polarization over national politics that has infected the town.
“Years ago, you never knew where people stood on national politics,” he recalled. “Now it really creeps into people’s thinking.”
As for his immediate plans, Maio says that he has several trips planned with his extended family.
“This was a labor of love,” Maio says of his time as Town Administrator. “You really can see that you helped. You can’t do everything, but every day we left it better than the day before.”