By Beth David, Editor
The Acushnet Selectboard did not vote to hire a Town Administrator after interviewing three finalists on 1/29/26. The board interviewed Ian Abreu, a sitting New Bedford City Councillor; Michael Boucher, a long time member of the Acushnet Finance Committee; and Heather Chew, former Acushnet Council on Aging Director.
First up was Mr. Boucher, who has been a chiropractor for 30 years, but stopped practicing in August. He also owns Ideal Protein, a weight loss program. He has been a member of the Acushnet FinCom since 2005 and chairperson since 2020.
He told the board that because of his 20 years on FinCom he developed an affinity for municipal government and thoroughly enjoys it.
When asked what the board might frustrate the board about working with him, Mr. Boucher said he knows he may get “too personally vested in a particular topic,” and needs to step back and take a deep breath. He said they can see for themselves during FinCom meetings that he can get “very passionate.”
“I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t care about that stuff,” he said.
In response to a questions, Mr. Boucher said a key issue the town faces is stability and employee retention in some key areas. He said the town can only afford to so much, but maybe could look into adding some flexibilty to positions, such as hybrid model or sharing positions.
He said the budget is still an ongoing issue, a constant struggle every year. The school department is almost 60% of the budget, he said, so they need to collaborate closely.
Mr. Boucher also said he would use his knowledge and experience healthcare to try to promote wellness. He said part of the reasons healthcare costs are going up because people are using services more. He would promote education about how to stay healthy to employees and residents.
“The healthier you are, the less claims you file,” he said.
The board interviewed Mr. Abreu next. According to his LinkedIn page, in addition to being on the NB City Council, Mr. Abreu is also President and CEO of Silmo Syrup; former Manager of Business Development & Public Policy for New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce SouthCoast Chapter. Mr. Abreu was also a Case Manager at the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, and Director of Broadcast Operations/Marketing Associate at New Bedford Bay Sox. He has a BA in Communication and Media Studies from Bridgewater State University.
In his introduction, Mr. Abreu told the board that he was very proud of his work with the chamber of commerce, helping businesses start up and grow. He noted that the city council oversees all budgetary issues, ordinances, mayoral appointments and is responsible for constituent services.
He said the first 90 days will necessarily include developing the budget, a process that has already started. He said they will need to figure out how to close the $1.2 million gap, and have discussions around where the community and board want to go.
“Where you folks want to take this town and how you want to grow our tax base all while not infringing on the sanctity and the charm and beauty of this town which is very important to the townspeople, to all of you and to me as well,” said Mr. Abreu, adding that most importantly he will need to listen.
He will meet with department heads, business leaders and stakeholders, under the direction of the board, to see where the go next.
Mr. Abreu said his role is like a coach, the board is like a general manager, and the residents are the owners.
“We’re here to help and serve them,” he said, adding he had a lot of experience managing staff and has great interpersonal communications dealing with people.
“I’m a bottom up. I’m not a top down kind of person,” said Mr. Abreu. “I’m a very boots on the ground, transparent person. That’s the way I’ve always been.”
In response to a question about how difficult it might be to go from a $600 million budget in NB to a $37ii million budget, Mr. Abreu said he would have no problem being “hyperfocused.”
Ms. Chew served as the COA director in Acushnet for 12 years. She was also Director, Network Operations at Alma del Mar Charter Public School, and recently began a position at the Boys and Girls Club of Metro South as Senior Director, Development. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Southern NH University and is enrolled in a Masters program in Public Administration at Northeastern University.
She submitted a 100-day plan that includes three phases. Phase one includes financial assessment, operational and organizational review, governance and board relations, community engagement. Phase two includes Financial stabilization actions, internal process improvements, staff and management structure. Phase three includes town meeting and budget preparation, long-term financial planning, internal process improvements, and early-win initiatives.
Ms. Chew told the board that a TA job has been her long term goal and she has had many conversations with the current TA.
Ms. Chew said in her first 30 days she would like to see where they are in the budget. She would also like meet with department heads and continue to meet with them regularly to keep the lines of communication open, which will allow them to be proactive instead of reactive. She said the board has been so busy “putting out fires” they have not had time to be proactive.
She said an “uncomfortable truth in th room” is that the board members have been transparent about how they feel that candidates are not prepared, so she felt she had to come to the table with a plan.
She said her foundation is strong educationally and knowing the town. She also said the Mass. Municipal Association has courses she can take for TAs.
Ms. Chew said her approach to the budget deficit would be to work closely with their state delegation to increase funding, to look for grants that maybe they never even heard of, and attract more businesses to town.
“So I think there’s lot of things you can do. I don’t think it’s ever going to be perfect, but I think there’s a lot of untapped potential,” she said.
As for handling stressful situations and putting out fires, Ms. Chew said it’s important to be “very strategic” and learn what a real fire is what a perceived fire is, and just “keeping a cool head.”
The board did not vote on any of the candidates. SB Chairperson David Wojnar said he wanted to meet with the Search Committee members to get their candid opinions on the candidates. The board will meet on 2/10 with the Screening Committee in executive session unless Town Counsel says it is not a proper reason.
Meanwhile, the position will be reposted.
The position pays $125,000–$150K according to the posting. The meeting is available on the town’s YouTube channel: https://tinyurl.com/2jxhzsdt
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