Council appoints new city clerk with an eye to modernization
PROVIDENCE — The Providence City Council on Thursday night appointed Shawn Selleck as the new city clerk.
Selleck, 44, previously worked as a project manager in the state’s Department of Information Technology.
Selleck was the only nominee to replace Lori Hagen as city clerk. The appointment is for a four-year term.
Hagen, who has worked for the city for nearly 30 years, has been the city clerk for the past four years and acting city clerk one year prior to that. Her most recent salary was $99,443, according to a press secretary for the mayor’s office.
“...Lori Hagen has been a tremendous leader and has been an astounding civil servant, and I cannot thank her enough for all the work she has done to keep Providence moving forward,” City Council President Sabina Matos said in a statement sent out after Thursday night’s meeting.
In the statement, Matos said she was drawn by Selleck’s potential to help further modernize the city clerk’s department, which, according to its web page, "is the official repository for all ordinances, resolutions and official documents related to the government of the City of Providence."
“The vision that Shawn expressed to me to transform the Clerk’s Department to become more technologically focused resonated with me and my vision for the future of the departments that the Council oversees,” the statement says.
Selleck worked for the city clerk’s department in 2013 as a consultant. He helped launch the city’s open meetings portal and worked with the City Council to purchase laptops for the members.
“I hope to continue working on those same modernization efforts, which is basically what I do for the state right now,” Selleck said.
Ward 8 City Councilman James Taylor said he hopes Selleck can help the City Council reduce its paper use and become more technologically savvy.
The City Council on Thursday also voted to send a resolution to the city’s Committee on Public Property that opposes legislation that would allow a lease of the city's water supply.
Council members who sponsored the resolution said they feared such a move would lead to increased rates, reduced water quality and a degradation of the resource. Mayor Jorge Elorza has proposed monetizing the water as a way to finance the city’s unfunded pension liability.
“It’s a false choice to pit our water supply against the city’s fiscal health,” said Ward 1 City Councilman Seth Yurdin. “No one here disagrees the city faces long-term financial challenges, but a water transfer scheme is a one-time fix with unacceptable long-term costs.”
Ward 12 City Councilwoman Katherine Kerwin said she worried about the effect such a transaction could have on Providence residents.
“I know that the city’s finances cannot be overlooked, but I also would never want to see our city residents have to make a move like this at the expense of their health and the expense of their own personal finances,” she said.
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