Capital Strategic Solutions is happy to announce that Tim Goddard has joined our team as Senior Project Manager. Tim’s experience in municipal management in town government has given him a unique and varied set of skills, best at evaluating solutions by connecting department goals into a cohesive big picture. His holistic approach is able to draw departments out of their silos and communicate complex plans to community members, so they too feel involved in the process. His time especially working in smaller communities has made him well versed in pragmatic planning that uses limited time and resources effectively. His dedication to transparency and community building can be seen in the many pillars of his career and we are excited to bring his talent to our clients.

Tim joins us from his most recent position as the Town Administrator for Carlisle, Massachusetts. Tim had worked for the Town of Carlisle since 2009, seeing the town through many changes and transformations. This time spent working in a smaller community has given Tim the experience in wearing many different hats as town administrator. Tim understands the necessity, when resources are limited, to jump in and get the work done. This can be seen from his dedicated hands-on approach to a municipal aggregation project several years ago on behalf of the town. The town worked with an energy broker to explore a variety of options for the town’s electrical energy service. This process included many complex and integral negotiations that required a calm and steady hand. Tim and his colleagues were able to give their community members more autonomy over their energy sources, as there were a variety of rates to give people as much control as they wanted over their energy. This also kept in mind the expressed interest in forward thinking planning and included an emphasis on renewable energy sources. This very long process honed Tim’s skill of communicating complex ideas to community members as Tim was able to walk his community through the process and their options, so that they could make well-informed decisions for themselves and their families. This project is a shining example of Tim’s holistic approach to projects, combining his talent for clear communications, straightforward problem solving, and transparency of intent from start to finish.

Prior to his time in Carlisle Tim worked for the then town of Framingham for several years as Assistant Town Manager. This role was to primarily assist the Town Manager in operations, including, collective bargaining, Town Meeting preparation, and town-wide planning and operations. During this time Tim also served as the interim division head for Human Resources, Community Development, and Information Technology, again utilizing his skill at switching between many hats to accomplish the goals of the community.

Like many other members of the CSS team, in Framingham Tim worked within a well-organized team, where multiple departments were able to work together on projects to accomplish large goals. His position as Assistant Town Manager gave him insight into multiple areas of work within the town government, allowing him to excel in inter-departmental communication. Tim knows how easy it is for different departments to become siloed in their operational tasks and understands the necessity of building bridges between departments so that large scale projects can have the fewest blind spots possible. Tim knows that oversights and mistakes are more likely when projects are not shared with those with the expertise to evaluate them.

work desk with binders spelling application and grants

Across the communities he’s worked in, Tim understands the complexity and necessity of rigorous and thoughtful grant writing, management, and planning. Tim knows that while there are many grant opportunities available, not every grant works for every community. Effectively measuring the sustainability of the grant to match the needs of a community requires the insight and experience of someone familiar with their community and internal municipal structure. Tim’s expertise in thoughtful financial management can be seen from his successful application to the Green Communities Program on behalf of the town of Carlisle for energy efficiency funds. Tim also managed a successful cost saving program to buy back municipal streetlights, allowing the town more autonomy in managing street light infrastructure, while also cutting costs to community members. Staying up to date on grants and financial opportunities takes diligence, but even more importantly, Tim knows that integrating long term planning with grant management and administration will increase the likelihood of long-term success.

Tim’s dedication to municipal government can be seen in his involvement within his own community. Since 2007 Tim has served as the elected Town Moderator for Littleton, and before that also served on their Housing Authority, Planning Board and Selectboard. His role as town moderator has made him an incredibly effective communicator, especially within the town meeting format. In a medium where clarity of information is key, and misunderstanding or oversight can easily domino into stagnation, Tim has the practiced experience of communicating and collecting information in a way that is transparent, precise, and thoughtful. Beyond his experience as a Moderator, Tim is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Moderator’s Association and the Lowell Regional Transit Authority Advisory Board. All these positions lend a hand to his remarkable skill in municipal communication, advisement, and planning, as Tim can successfully juggle many different needs within a single community or project.

image of town meeting mic

Tim’s time in government has given him a holistic set of skills, combining hands on experience and academic industry knowledge, to create a well-rounded perspective on projects. Tim received a graduate fellowship toward a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Massachusetts and has continued his education in public sector knowledge by partaking in additional coursework throughout his career. This includes attending a program in public sector leadership at the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and the Supervisory Leadership Development Program at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Combining his accreditations with hands on experience has allowed Tim to look at a problem through many different lenses, comparing solutions before choosing the best course of action.

This glimpse into Tim’s career showcases the many talents we hope to bring to communities across New England. Success in municipal administration requires an intersection of so many different skills that experience is the best way to ensure those connections. Tim himself has described his approach as holistic, in that he can look at multiple interacting factors and see how they will interact on the big picture level. Tim knows that oversights happen when you look at a project or problem through only one lens. The more complicated the project, the more viewpoints you need to reduce blind spots and oversights. Because Tim has the experience in wearing so many different hats in municipal administration, he can easily switch between these viewpoints as he evaluates and crafts solutions and strategic planning. We at CSS know that Tim’s exceptional work ethic and creativity can lighten the load and assist communities across New England, which is why we are so pleased and honored to bring him into our team.

We are so excited to have Tim join the team at Capital Strategic Solutions. As one of the most respected municipal leaders in New England, Tim brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience that will be incredibly beneficial to our clients. At a time when city and town leaders are stretched beyond thin for resources, Tim provides the professional experience and wide skill set needed by so many municipalities. The team at CSS looks forward to working him on many future projects.

Jennifer Thompson

Chief Development Officer, Partner, Capital Strategic Solutions