Andover Town Manager Andrew Flanagan (left) at the Aug. 1, 2022 select board meeting.

Andover Town Manager Andrew Flanagan improved in all major job performance categories, according to his annual performance review by the select board, which was accepted with a unanimous, 5-0 vote Monday night.

The select board is required to complete the town manager’s performance review each year. Flanagan’s overall rating was 4.27 out of 5, up from 4.12 in 2021. Flanagan’s highest rating as town manager was in his first review in 2016, when the select board rated him 4.80.

“It’s an incredibly valuable process, not only for myself but for our entire team as we try to guide the direction of the organization,” Flanagan said. “I’m very hopeful we will continue to make progress in all of the areas identified.”

Each board member rated Flanagan on a scale of 1-5 in multiple areas divided into eight categories, with a three meaning he was meeting expectations. A three rating is “if you’re at your job and doing exactly what is expected…So a three is not a bad rating,” Chair Alex Vispoli said. A two, meanwhile, would mean improvement is needed, while ratings of 4 or 5 mean the person being reviewed is exceeding expectations.

Category2022 Rating2021 Rating
Personal characteristics4.804.21
Professionalism4.314.21
Public relations and communications3.953.75
Board support and relation4.364.00
Community leadership4.053.84
Organizational leadership and personnel management4.153.83
Financial management4.704.57
Planning and organization4.033.93

In written comments, select board members praised Flanagan’s financial management and his handling of crises, including the 2018 Merrimack Valley gas explosions, the mass resgination of the staff at Andover Youth Services and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Areas for improvement included better communications, a more consistent schedule for updates to the board and increasing his visibility by engaging with groups and individuals in town, including businesses.

The board also held a closed-door, executive session Monday to negotiate Flanagan’s contract. Earlier in the meeting, the board unanimously approved Flanagan’s proposed goals for 2022-23. The performance review included an evaluation of how he performed in meeting his 2021-22 goals:

GoalRating
Administration and finance4.40
Citizen response management and engagement3.60
Capital investments4.20
Downtown Andover3.80
River and open space access and sustainability3.60
Diversity, equity and inclusion4.00
Energy and sustainability4.20

Vispoli also shared a slide Monday showing the average rating given by each select board member in Flanagan’s 2022 performance review:

MemberAverage Rating
Christian Huntress4.15
Annie Gilbert4.04
Laura Gregory4.28
Melissa Danisch5.00
Alex Vispoli3.93
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