The state has employed a brand new $180,000 per 12 months secretary to associate with its just lately minted Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, an invention of Gov. Maura Healey’s break up from the Department of Housing and Economic Development.
Former Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus, who was most just lately serving because the Chancellor of Dean College, will be part of the Healey Administration as its latest Cabinet member in the beginning of June, the governor’s workplace introduced Monday.
According to the governor, Augustus’ work in central Massachusetts creating new housing and his familiarity with native authorities make him uniquely suited to the position.
“He left Worcester a stronger city than it was a decade ago, with booming economic development in the downtown and thousands of new housing units. Importantly, he is intimately familiar with local government and knows what it takes to collaborate with municipalities to move our state forward on our housing goals,” she stated alongside along with his announcement.
The new Secretary-Designate led Worcester from 2014 till 2022 earlier than departing for a job in academia. Augustus left Dean College after lower than a 12 months as its first chancellor, a place he resigned final month whereas staying on as a particular advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
While in Worcester, Healey’s workplace stated, Augustus managed a $750 million price range and was a part of the negotiations which led to the relocation of a Boston Red Sox AAA affiliate from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to Worcester. He beforehand served as state Senator representing Worcester’s 2nd District, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern’s chief of workers, and as a staffer within the Clinton Administration.
Augustus’ position involves be after Healey, as a promised technique of placing concentrate on the state’s want for brand spanking new housing, filed laws to separate the Department of Housing and Economic Development right into a pair of separate secretariats which the Legislature authorized earlier this month.
“Massachusetts’ housing crisis impacts every single community in our state, but we know what the solution is – build more housing,” Augustus stated together with the announcement of his appointment. “This administration recognizes that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy to achieving this and that we must work closely with communities to deploy a diverse toolbox of options to meet their unique needs. That’s what this new secretariat will be committed to doing.”
The Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Massachusetts met the appointment announcement with reward for Healey’s alternative.
“We believe that, as a former municipal leader, Secretary-Designate Augustus understands the dire need for new housing of all types and the steps that must be taken to facilitate rapid solutions,” they stated in a written assertion.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”
