Town manager gets 2.93% bonus after job review
Select Board members delivered a mixed annual review of Kerry Lafleur’s job performance.
Town Manager Kerry Lafleur will receive a bonus after Select Board members delivered a mixed annual review of her job performance.
The one-time payout of $6,971.91 is based on her $237,543.75 salary from the 2025 fiscal year. The Select Board approved the bonus Monday night.
Current board members and former member Terri Ackerman submitted anonymous comments and numerical ratings for the review. Paul Boehm didn’t participate because he joined the board more recently.
Members praised Lafleur’s handling of tasks including the Concord250 celebrations but flagged concerns about communication and employee fatigue.
Lafleur received an overall rating of 2.17 out of 3 — a slight dip from last year’s 2.29.
Select Board Chair Mark Howell said Monday that fiscal 2025 brought “exceptional things” like the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution. He said his concerns included “stresses that occurred in the finance department.”
Lafleur thanked the board when Human Resources Director Jess Porter presented the review and said she takes the critiques seriously.
“These are all fair and valuable points, and I intend to put them into practice,” she said.
Praise and concerns
The merit payment comes six months after the Select Board approved a new three-year contract for the town manager with a 5% raise in its first year. The raise took effect July 1.
Porter presented Lafleur’s performance notes in August, and the Select Board was scheduled to consider her bonus at its first meeting in September. It took the panel more than a month to vote after a jam-packed agenda delayed one discussion and the board backtracked on a plan to consider the merit pay behind closed doors.
One commenter called Lafleur a “strong leader.” Another note said the town “is in a much better place than it was 5-10 years ago.”
Alongside commendations, multiple comments noted delays in the town’s push to arrange voluntary payment in lieu of tax agreements with non-profits.
One said Acton “is still experiencing some key position vacancies.” Another worried that staff were “thoroughly exhausted” by this spring’s semiquincentennial scramble.
“Once upon a time, Acton was a leader among its peers, but it gradually lost ground over the last few decades and then lived off its reputation,” the same panelist wrote. “Now we need to grow that reputation again.”
Lafleur’s review came as the town moved to fire Chief Financial Officer Anthony Ansaldi.
While town leaders have stayed quiet on their reasoning for the dismissal, Ansaldi has said he was unfairly blamed for a litany of financial missteps, including budget errors and a delayed payroll conversion.
By the numbers
Town manager goals
- Organizational resilience: 1.87
- Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging: 2.00
- Effective governance and communication: 1.88
- Financial resiliency: 1.70
- Strategic planning: 1.91
General leadership, governance, and other skills
- Work with Select Board: 2.44
- Leadership: 2.44
- Management: 2.33
- Finance: 2.32
- Communications: 2.23
- Personal: 2.45
Overall: 2.17 out of 3
Source: 2025 Town manager performance review summary
Employee morale
Comments in the town manager’s review touched on employee morale and loyalty.
Speaking with The Acton Bridge, Lafleur recalled the Personnel Study Task Force, which issued its final report in September 2022 and raised concerns about non-competitive wages and benefits.
Lafleur, who became manager in July 2022, said she feels “we’ve been doing a lot” to address morale.
Howell said the work is ongoing but tracking employee satisfaction can be hard. “You can ask people,” he said, “but will they tell you?”
‘A hard job’
Lafleur’s 2.93% bonus was below the maximum 5% set in her contract.
Howell first proposed the rate as a figure indexed to Lafleur’s 2.17-out-of-3 performance rating.
His colleague, Cameron McKennitt, suggested a 2% bonus but was ultimately outvoted as the panel backed the higher figure by a 4-1 vote. A 2.00 rating would have counted as “satisfactory.”
“We have to reward people for meeting objectives,” said Select Board member Mary Hartman. “It’s a hard job.”
