Politics & Government

Scotch Plains Residents Meet the Manager

New Township Manager Jerry Giaimis spent his second day on the job getting to know area citizens.

First things first: Scotch Plains' new township manager, Jerry Giaimis, pronounces his Italian surname as "all one syllable—'Jimes.'" That was just one question put to the new town official during a special meet and greet event held at the municipal building Thursday evening.

A group of residents, along with Mayor Kevin Glover and the Township Council, braved the heat to come and get to know the 35-year-old Giaimis a little better. The informal gathering over coffee also was an opportunity for the manager, who officially started the job Wednesday, to make a good first impression on the citizens he will serve in his new $120,000 per year job.

Among the other questions he fielded was one from British-born resident Elsie LeStrange, who asked Giaimis if he could identify the flower featured on a patch worn by members of the Scotch Plains Police Department.

"It is a Scottish thistle," LeStrange said once it was clear no one in the room knew the answer. "They grow wild in the hills of Scotland."

The flower, she shared, represents the Scottish Quakers who first settled in Scotch Plains in about 1684.

"I appreciate the history lesson," Giaimis told LeStrange after shaking her hand.

The exchanges between the new manager and residents were just as good-natured, even as Giaimis addressed the challenges he'll face in his new job, among them "bringing stability" to township government.

"First, you want to provide that leadership to provide that stability," he said. "Some of the specific things we're dealing with now are union contracts and creating a team that works all on the same page.

"Budgets are going to always be a challenge," he continued. "You want to spend the least amount of money while providing a level of quality service that people have come to expect. It is not an easy balancing act. That's a challenge that starts every day."

Giaimis faced a challenge even before winning the job. On June 27, four members of the Township Council approved his hire, but Mayor Kevin Glover voted no.

"He has approximately five years of experience," Glover told Patch in early July, citing Giaimis' two years as assistant township manager in Randolph and his three years as Vernon's town manager and administrator. "I just think that after the issue that we’ve gone through with the loss of Henry Underhill, I was hoping to have someone that would have had more experience."

But Councilman Bo Vastine, speaking for the council at Thursday's Meet the Manager event, said that Giaimis' time in Vernon showed he had the right stuff for Scotch Plains. 

"What's most important in my mind is that Jerry understands that he has the full support of the majority of the council," said Vastine, alluding to the mayor's no vote. "In Vernon, he was the sixth manager in a year, and he [stayed] there for three years. So either, A, he got things under control there or, B, he had the intestinal fortitude to stick around until he got things under control. To me, that says a lot.

"I think he'll make a big difference here."

If any tension remains between the mayor and the new hire, it was not evident Thursday. The two men shook hands, laughed and chatted like old friends.

Giaimis told the residents present that he wants them to know that he is accessible to them.

"I have an open-door policy as much as is possible," he said. "Call or come by. You'll always get a response to every inquiry. You may not like the answer, but you'll have one."

Self-described "taxpayer and resident" Albert Muller told Patch he's looking forward to seeing the new manager in action.

"I wish him well; he shows a lot of promise," Muller said. "He'll have to get into certain situations so we can see how he performs, but it's a good start."

For Giaimis' part, he told residents he is just happy to be in the township.

"At this point in my life, I had to decide—where do I want to be? Where do I want to live?" he said. "I like this town. I wanted to be in a place where I like where I'm living."

Giaimis said his choice says nothing bad about Vernon, only that he wants to live in Scotch Plains, and he hopes to settle into an apartment in the township in the very near future.

"I know I'm going to like being a part of the community," he said.


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