SEEKONK - It’s been almost two full years in Seekonk for Town Administrator Michael Carroll and while most selectmen gave him solid marks on a performance review last Wednesday, every board member added he needs to do a better job with communication.

Conducted as a workshop at the end of a regularly scheduled selectmen meeting, each selectman had a chance to rate Mr. Carroll’s on-the-job performance since he was officially named town administrator in Jan. 2008. Selectman David Parker, who was voted into office last April, said that while he is the “junior” member of the board he has noticed that communication from Mr. Carroll to the selectmen and to other town employees is “lacking big time.”

Specifically, Mr. Parker cited an incident from earlier in the year when two new animal control officers showed up for their first day on the job without anyone to greet them or show them around. Mr. Parker added that he “can’t count” how many times the board has had to ask Mr. Carroll for the same items or information “four or five times.”

Selectman John Whelan, the longest tenured selectman, agreed there is a communication issue but his comments about Mr. Carroll centered on the positive.

“I’ve seen too many town administrators come and go,” Mr. Whelan said. “You’re probably the best I’ve seen … I believe overall you have rose to the occasion and are above expectations.”

Likewise, selectman Michael Brady said he was “more than satisfied” with Mr. Carroll’s overall performance and in four-and-a-half years as a selectman, he had not seen the town running better than it is now. But Mr. Brady added there is room for improvement in the area of “follow-up” with certain issues and called on Mr. Carroll to become more authoritative with municipal employees.

“There are times when the boss has to be the boss,” Mr. Brady said. “There needs to be a working relationship with town employees but there has to be a clear delineation between you and them.”

Selectman Robert Richardson, the second to last member to chime in, said Mr. Carroll has done well so far, but there is work to be done.

“You’ve done an admirable job. Great job. Now what we’re saying is continue,” Mr. Richardson said.

Unlike his peers, however, selectmen chairman Francis Cavaco said he would describe Mr. Carroll’s overall performance as “needing improvement.”

Along with echoing the communication sentiment, Mr. Cavaco said Mr. Carroll needs to stop letting people “walk-in” his office.

“It’s getting to be ridiculous,” Mr. Cavaco said.

On top of the selectmen’s reviews, Mr. Carroll’s performance was subject to a questionnaire that was available to all town hall employees and residents townwide. Altogether, 35 people responded to the survey, which included categories like initiative and innovation, leadership, problem-solving and quality. In each of these categories, residents and employees could rate Mr. Carroll’s performance as exceptional, above expectations, satisfactory, needing improvement or unsatisfactory.

While a few categories had between five and seven responses in the exceptional or above expectations performance rating (like leadership and problem solving) these same areas came with higher numbers of improvement needed and unsatisfactory ratings. In every area, the number of needing improvement and unsatisfactory responses outweighed the exceptional or above expectation ratings.

Mr. Carroll said that although the questionnaire has merit, a more valuable form would have been one that solicited comments.

“Two people could check off a box and mean totally different things,” Mr. Carroll said.

Additionally, Mr. Carroll said the selectmen’s review told him what he needs to work on, but also reinforced that he is handling major issues (such as collective bargaining agreements, the town’s finances and town meeting issues) well. Regarding communication, Mr. Carroll said he plans to alter the content of the weekly town administrator’s report to follow-up on previous issues and question put forth by the board.

All-in-all, Mr. Carroll said the review is a valuable tool.

“It’s always worth doing,” Mr. Carroll said. “When performance reviews don’t happen, people don’t get feedback and often you need it. I need to know if I’m doing things the way they should be done. I don’t want to be surprised later. Also, things that are being done well should be brought to your attention, so if I know what you think I’m doing well, then I know how to proceed forward.”