Milford’s new city manager Christopher Coleman starts Monday, August 4.
Current city manager Mark Whitfield announced his retirement last October and said he would stick around until the city found the right match.
His last day of work is June 20. Coleman will take on the role about a month later.
Coleman has over 30 years of experience in municipal government in Massachusetts, acting as treasurer, assistant town manager and director of human resources in several Massachusetts towns.
He has served as Westwood, Massachusetts’ town administrator since November 2019.
Coleman said he’s looking forward to working with a great team in Milford.
“I really want to sit down and learn from them, learn from the mayor, learn from the council members, also learn about the community, and really just continue to help them move the city forward.”
Coleman currently works for Westwood’s board members who have an annual town meeting to present their budget and zoning bylaws.
“We can't really do anything else without that authorization from the community,” Coleman said. “So the government structure in Milford allows for, in my opinion, allows for the city to take advantage of opportunities a little faster, more efficiently, still thorough, but a little bit more efficient.”
Coleman added he worked with Westwood board members to make the town more accessible from an ADA perspective.
“We have gone through an ADA compliance audit, and one of the things that I asked for was what I call ‘warts and all,’” Coleman said. “So we looked at all the things that we need to improve. We have that report back.”
An initial grant funded Westwood’s planning, and Coleman said town officials are now working on applying for another grant that will help with implementation. He said some improvements can be made through the operating budget while others will take large capital investments.
“I would take that experience to Milford and see what Milford [is] doing, and see if there's anything, any way I could assist them achieve those goals.”
Coleman will take the reins from Whitman, who has been in the role for about five years.
