Despite a public-sector career marked by contentious departures, criticism of his management and questions about his financial oversight, Troy Clarkson will begin work as Plymouth County administrator with an employment agreement that makes it difficult for county commissioners to remove him over his performance.
“We need someone in that seat who can perform and take county government to the next level,” Plymouth County Commissioner Sandra Wright said of the decision to hire Clarkson in an interview with South Shore Times.
But the three-year agreement approved by commissioners does not identify poor performance, unfavorable evaluations or failure to meet established goals, standing alone, as grounds for termination without financial consequences. Instead, Clarkson can be terminated without compensation only for “Just Cause,” a term the contract expressly says is “strictly limited” to a small number of circumstances. Those include certain criminal convictions, a willful and continued failure or refusal to perform material duties, or an intentional and material policy violation that causes demonstrably significant financial or reputational harm to Plymouth County.
If commissioners terminate Clarkson without meeting that standard, the agreement states that he is entitled to all compensation due under the contract. Even a termination for just cause requires additional protections, including written notice, in many cases 30 days to correct the alleged problem, a formal hearing and a unanimous vote of the full Board of County Commissioners. Any dispute over whether just cause existed can ultimately be decided through binding arbitration.
“Something like this has never been done before,” Plymouth County Treasurer Tom O’Brien told South Shore Times.
To his knowledge, O’Brien said, Plymouth County had never offered a contract to a non-union county employee. In his 20 years with the county, he said he also had never seen an employee hired at a salary higher than the one advertised.
The fully executed agreement obtained by South Shore Times begins Sept. 7 and runs through June 30, 2029. It bears the signatures of Clarkson, Wright and Hanley. Valanzola’s signature line is blank.
During the August 12 Plymouth County Commissioners’ meeting, county attorney Shannon Resnick confirmed that she led the negotiations with Clarkson. She also stated that contracted legal work related to Clarkson’s hiring cost the county $10,000 to $15,000. Resnick did not return repeated calls for comment.
“New people might have a grudge against him and he’s gone,” Wright said when asked about the strict employment protections. “Troy wanted that security.”
The protections are notable given Clarkson’s record in local government. One municipal official described his management style to South Shore Times as “divisive.” Rachel Hughes, a member of the Hanover Select Board and voting alternate on the Plymouth County Advisory Board, was more blunt.
“That contract seems ludicrous and insane given what we know about Troy’s history of employment,” Hughes said. “I don’t understand how this is happening, how it’s even legal.”
Over more than two decades in municipal government, Clarkson has faced controversies in Brockton, Hanover and Bridgewater involving financial oversight, personnel decisions and bitter disputes with elected officials. For Clarkson's part, he indicated that it was all part of the job.
“Progress can be difficult, and change is difficult,” said Clarkson in an interview with South Shore Times. “Both of the communities in which I served as town manager, it was right in the aftermath of a significant change in governance. But in both of those communities, we were able to go from great fiscal instability to significant fiscal stability.”
Brockton's Multi-Million Dollar Deficit
Clarkson’s most recent tenure as Brockton’s chief financial officer later came under scrutiny in an independent investigation of an approximately $18 million fiscal 2023 deficit in Brockton Public Schools.
The investigation, conducted by Nystrom Beckman & Paris, found no evidence of theft, fraud or misappropriation of funds. It did, however, sharply criticize financial management and oversight within both the school department and city government. The report specifically faulted Clarkson for failing to adequately oversee the finances of a school system that accounted for nearly half of Brockton’s overall budget.
According to the report, Clarkson did not regularly monitor the school department’s budget or spending despite responsibilities assigned to the city CFO under Brockton law. Investigators concluded that greater oversight from the CFO’s office likely would have identified financial problems earlier and could have prevented the fiscal 2023 deficit.
The report also found that Clarkson had been alerted during the fiscal year to concerns involving school staffing costs, tuition for students placed outside the district and transportation expenses. Investigators said Clarkson did not ask school finance officials to quantify the costs or provide additional financial documentation. The report contrasted that approach with Clarkson’s oversight of other city departments, where he routinely reviewed spending reports with department heads.
According to investigators, Clarkson viewed school finances largely as the responsibility of the school department and told them he relied on its “ability to solve its own problems.” The report also said Clarkson was aware that the school department had projected a shortfall while developing its fiscal 2023 budget and later told investigators he sensed something was “brewing” with school finances.
Clarkson painted a different picture.
“I think in the face of that deficit, Brockton, faced an existential threat to the survival of the city. We were able to get through it because of the policies that were in place,” Clarkson told South Shore Times. “Because of those policies, we raised the revenue to cover that deficit. That doesn't get talked about a lot.”
Investigators continued to criticize Clarkson’s approach after the deficit became public and he assumed more direct oversight of school finances. The report cited an instance in which financial records appeared to show approximately $12 million in overspending in a single high school salary account. Although that figure was ultimately determined to be incorrect, investigators said Clarkson initially accepted it at “face value” rather than investigating the discrepancy.
The report also documented conflicting accounts about when Clarkson and Mayor Robert Sullivan learned the magnitude of the deficit. School officials told investigators they disclosed a nearly $8 million shortfall during an April 2023 meeting. Clarkson and Sullivan denied being given a specific deficit figure at that time, and investigators said available records did not establish exactly what was discussed.
Look at Brockton; it’s a mess... [Clarkson] had to do what the mayor wanted.Plymouth County Commissioner Sandra Wright
“You still see officials arguing publicly about the aftermath,” said Clarkson. “I think very early on in that process, I stood up at a microphone and said, for whatever role I played in this, I take full responsibility. That's my style.”
When asked about Clarkson’s record in Brockton, Commissioner Wright sought to place the blame elsewhere.
“Look at Brockton; it’s a mess. It’s going to go into state receivership. I mean, how could it not,” she said. “[Clarkson] had to do what the mayor wanted. The mayor was on the school committee and you’re telling me he didn’t know about it? Please.”
A Parting of the Ways in Hanover
Prior to his work in Brockton, Clarkson served as Hanover’s town manager. In 2017, the Board of Selectmen voted 3-to-2 to not negotiate a new contract with him.
Based on minutes from Clarkson’s April 2017 performance evaluation, selectmen raised concerns about his handling of employees and whether personal relationships were affecting his decision-making. The evaluation stated that Clarkson’s “loyalty to individuals appears to cloud his judgement.” Selectmen also identified problems with communication, including his relationship with the town’s Advisory Committee, communication with board members and interaction with rank-and-file employees.
The decision came despite lobbying on Clarkson’s behalf. Based on the official meeting minutes, Plymouth County Commissioner and former Hanover Selectman Daniel Pallotta urged the board to reconsider. The minutes state that Pallotta recommended the board enter into a new contract and “give Mr. Clarkson a chance,” although he conditioned that recommendation on the board being willing to continue working with Clarkson. Pallotta was later hired by the City of Brockton to work under Clarkson in administering the city’s ARPA finances.
Clarkson could have remained until his contract expired in April 2018, but he and the town instead negotiated an earlier departure.
Earlier in his tenure, Clarkson faced calls to be fired by some select board members. According to reporting by the Patriot Ledger, Clarkson hired a select board member in 2013 to a $40,000 finance department position, causing a vacancy on the board. A headline at the time read “Former Bridgewater Town Manager Troy Clarkson nearly Fired in Hanover.”
Battles in Bridgewater
Before working in Hanover, Clarkson worked in Bridgewater and, according to reporting at the time, that position was a turbulent period marked by repeated clashes with Bridgewater’s newly elected Town Council. The Boston Globe later described the relationship as one of “continual clashes” as officials struggled over the division of power under a new town charter.
The dispute at one point landed in Superior Court, where Clarkson successfully challenged the council’s attempt to assert authority over the hiring and firing of town employees. Other conflicts involved a drainage study Clarkson commissioned, his refusal to sign a council-developed list of goals and responsibilities, and his decision to hire a consultant to study development near Route 24 without first consulting councilors. The political battle became so bitter that a citizens group supporting Clarkson sought to recall two councilors viewed as leading his opposition.
Another controversy erupted just after Clarkson departed. The Globe reported that he had negotiated contracts providing substantial raises to several department managers without seeking council approval. The town assessor’s salary was set to rise 28 percent, from $53,000 to $68,000, while the treasurer-collector was slated for a nearly 16 percent increase, from $57,000 to $66,000. Several other managers received $9,000 increases. The raises required approximately $400,000 in additional funding.
I will make mistakes in my new position. But, as always, I will own them, and try to focus on solutions.Troy Clarkson
Clarkson defended the agreements, arguing that employees had been underpaid and that health insurance concessions would save Bridgewater $1.2 million over three years. Councilor Peter Riordan, a longtime Clarkson critic, called the raises “off the wall.”
“The guy walked out and left the town holding the bag,” Riordan told the Globe.
“When I got to Bridgewater, there was negative $750,000 in free cash,” Clarkson said. “When I left a couple of years later, there was more than $2 million in free cash. Those are the results that I like to focus on.”
“I will make mistakes in my new position,” Clarkson added. “But as always, I will own them, and try to focus on solutions.”