The Finance Committee voted Thursday (5, 1) to approve Ernie Tommasiello for the city’s community development director position; Tommasiello will now go before the full council for approval at the end of the month.

Tommasiello currently serves as the city’s Constituent Affairs Director and was a board member for Cranston’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program where he had input and insight into the programs and operations of the department.

“The thing I love is coming in every day and helping people,” said Tommasiello. “Over my career I always found that the easiest thing was to help everyone achieve their goals and you achieve your goals.”

Tommasiello graduated from Providence College with a Bachelors of Science degree. He has broad business experience in sales, marketing and management skills – all of which Chief of Staff Anthony Moretti said align near perfectly to the ideal qualifications needed to promote and manage Cranston’s CDBG program.

He also comes to the table with 30 plus years of volunteer service mentoring children and developing programs for the CLCF Youth Sports Hockey Association. Moretti added that Tommasiello served eight years on the Board of Directors of CLCF where he was president for two years. He also served on the board for the New England District of USA Hockey and was a director for the RI Amateur Hockey Association’s Coaching Clinic for a decade.

“Obviously, Ernie has dedicated a good amount of his life to our city,” said Moretti.

Deputy Chief of Staff Paul McAuley said he has the utmost confidence in Tommasiello and that he will do a terrific job in the new position. When Tommasiello came on board, McAuley said he did not miss a beat and has been a help to the city’s citizens.

Council members agreed that, as the city’s Constituent Affairs Director, Tommasiello has successfully assisted constituents. Sometimes, Cranston residents would call council people back after talking with Tommasiello to say how impressed they were with his assistance.

When he took on the Constituent Affairs Director position for the city, Tommasiello told council people that he would not go home in the evening unless every person who called him received a response that day. Even if he didn’t have an answer to their problem, he would contact constituents to let them know he received their question. 

If appointed to the new position, Tommasiello believes he can help more people than in his current role. As Constituent Affairs Director, he learned that there is a large amount of help that is needed within the city.

Tommasiello said getting word out about Community Development is a big part of improving the department since, a lot of times, people don’t know what’s available. Last year, the department received $1.6 million in funding and the federal government gave them strict guidelines on what the money could be used for.

“People in the city don’t know what we do in that department,” Tommasiello said, adding that what they do needs to be emphasized to the public – whether it’s through Facebook or mail.

The CDBG salary is roughly $70,000 and is federally funded, so it does not come out of the city’s budget; the appointment would not come with a salary increase. Moretti and Director of Personnel Dan Parrillo explained that the CDBG role does not have to be advertised since most of the director roles are done through appointment. In the event that Tommasiello was not the right fit for the position, Hopkins does have the power to let him go. 

McAuley added that since the layoff of the 21 city employees, the remaining employees have taken on additional responsibilities and Tommasiello has already been assisting with Community Development. Moretti said Hopkins felt he had the most qualified person and recommended Tommasiello for the position rather than looking elsewhere for someone.

While there was confidence that Tommasiello could perform the job successfully, there was also skepticism.

Councilwoman Jessica Marino said she was on the fence about approving the appointment because Tommasiello did not have first hand experience in federal funding while he sat on the CDBG board nor in his previous work experience was he involved with the federal funding. Ferri added that he made several phone calls when looking at Tommasiello’s resume but was not satisfied with the responses he got which caused him to vote no on the approval of Tommasiello for the position.

“The only hesitation I have is that with the lack of experience in community development and with managing and handling funds and regulations such as the ones imposed that, years ago the city was slapped on the wrist, and I don’t want to see that happen,” said councilman John Donegan.

Councilman Matt Reilly added that, by comparison, Tommasiello’s predecessor was unanimously appointed by the exact same council members and did not have any CDBG experience and did not sit on the CDBG board.

Following the discussion that Tommasiello may not be the best candidate for the position, McAuley walked out of the meeting and returned toward the end.

“I’m just a little bothered first and foremost that the administration is walking out this evening,” said councilwoman Lammis Vargas. “That has been extremely disrespectful.”

Vargas asked what would happen if Tommasiello failed to be appointed. Parrillo said without someone in the position as a point person, things would be on hold.  As the feds are visiting Cranston Aug. 1, the city would not be able to introduce a director. He said that would be a problem for the grant and programs going forward and would be jeopardizing future money for the city.

“I just think we’re trending in the wrong direction. I know we’re trying to get good qualified people for the city, but right now I don’t feel the council has my back in trying to do that. If we’re going to reject every person we bring in front of you, am I going to get anyone to come here? We’re one of the lowest paid cities and the state. We have a qualified person here who showed his commitment to the city over the last 35 years,” said Parrillo.

In a 5-1 vote to approve Tommasiello, the advice and consent of Tommasiello for the position of Director of Community Development will now go before the full council on July 25.