Meet Cody Haddad: The new town administrator looking to make ‘real change’

Dartmouth’s new Town Administrator Cody Haddad may have grown up in Taunton, but for him Dartmouth has always been a “special place.”

While studying political science at UMass Dartmouth, he quickly realized his interest in specifically municipal government and his professor and advisor Shannon Jenkins, who also served on the Dartmouth School Committee, had helped him connect him with former Town Administrator Shawn MacInnes for an internship.

“I always enjoyed Dartmouth,” he said. “I love there’s a small town aspect to Dartmouth, but we’re not a small town – we’re a pretty big town, almost a city, some would say, so the inner workings of the municipal government are super interesting.”

Haddad said it was the ability to make a “real difference” that drew him to local government.

While policy decisions on the state and federal level do affect people’s lives, he said, “There’s no greater impact to all of our lives than your local government.”

Haddad noted when considering the roads, water, sewer, public health, education, taxes and the general well-being of the local community, those decisions are often being made by town officials.

“I’ve found that it’s somewhere where you can actually see the fruits of our labor and really make a difference on a daily basis and I really enjoyed the overall management of municipal government – the fact that no day is that same – that you are not only making that difference, but there’s so many interesting things going on,” he said.

Haddad said he’s found the work to be fulfilling and even on the toughest days, can pinpoint where he’s been able to make an impact.

It’s a 24/7 job, he added. “There’s no time when you're not working, so you need to enjoy what you do. That’s basically why I’m here because I truly enjoy what I do and I really enjoy doing it in Dartmouth.”

After interning for a few months back in 2019, Haddad was hired part-time as acting energy manager, completing some analyst work for the town.

Then he went and worked for the town of Yarmouth for a few months, serving as a financial management analyst during the early months of the Covid pandemic. When the director of community and economic development had retired in Dartmouth, he came back and served as interim director of development, which “was really a quasi assistant town administrator role, [because it] didn’t exist at the time.”

Haddad said during this time, the town clerk had also resigned and he and Sarah Haskell, who was brought on as the interim clerk and now serves in the role, worked together to lead the presidential election in 2020.

Eventually after a few years as director of development that title was changed to assistant town administrator, which he did until he became town administrator for Halifax in January of 2023.

Since his start as the Dartmouth Town Administrator in early July, Haddad said the transition has been “excellent” due to both his familiarity with the town as well as the support of the staff.

“We’ve been able to really start digging back into things and getting things accomplished because while Chris and Gary did an excellent job, they were trying to do the work of another position,” Haddad said.

He noted the continued progress the town is looking to make with its long-range capital planning projects, including the Council on Aging and recreation center.

He also commended Vitale’s working with the progress on the long-awaited dog park.

There are also areas he said the town would like to begin improving, such as communication with the public. With the resignation of the communications coordinator Magnolia McComish, the town will begin the process of getting that position posted.

“One of my biggest priorities is making sure that we’re engaging the public and we’re communicating with the public,” Haddad said.

Additionally, a committee charge for a budget advisory group was approved based on feedback from Town Meeting.

“It’s no surprise that there are some financial challenges that lie ahead, not just for Dartmouth, but I think a lot of municipalities in the state, and so we want to be proactive in that approach,” he said, adding the group is an example of another way the town is working to improve communication, collaboration and identify priorities of the community as they go into budgeting season.

The town has also been undergoing a compensation and classification study of all the employees in town looking at benefits, including health insurance, and has additionally put together a health insurance advisory group. Haddad said while they want to maintain quality coverage, officials would like to see if both employees and town can save some money.

“So really a lot of high-level overview and review of some of our operations and making sure that we’re implementing efficiencies where it’s possible, but also making sure that what we’re doing makes sense,” he said. “That’s really what we want to do is a common sense approach to things that provide efficiencies where they make sense and move forward.”

When not working, Haddad said he spends his time with his wife and two mini-golden doodles.

He added he also frequently spends time with his nieces, who are 10, 2.5 and 18 months, and playing golf with his friends

“I’m not very good, but I do enjoy it,” he said. “I have a very good, supportive group of friends and family, so we’re always getting together with them.”

Haddad added, “Some would consider me a foodie. I love food, so I’m always trying new food whether it’s local restaurants or cooking something new at home.”

He and his wife also love to travel, having just come back from a trip to Spain and Italy this past June and plans to hike some national parks in the fall.

Haddad said he’d like residents to know they can always greet him when he’s out and about as 

“I think if people are looking around, they’ll certainly see me out and about,” he said. “Being in this position and being in Dartmouth, I’m not someone who’s just here in the building from 9 to 5, you’ll see me out in the community.”