Community Corner

It All Adds Up for a Cheshire Intern

The frenetic pace of budget season is a real-world learning tool.

For a student of public administration, there’s no better place to spend a few months than within the labyrinthine hallways of a public building at budget season.

Such is the case for 25-year-old Justin Hill who is an unpaid intern at Cheshire Town Hall. “He’s been here for the development of the (budget) book to the adoption of the budget,” said Town Manager Michael Milone. “His work is excellent.”

Hill, who received a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of New Haven in March, was selected by Milone for the internship soon after he graduated in the spring.

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“Working for a town manager is invaluable,” Hill said during a bit of downtime this week. He had just finished helping Milone and the Finance Department compile the 119-page capital budget document that was submitted to the Town Council on July 15.

A native of Wallingford, Hill got his undergraduate degree in public health at Southern Connecticut State University. But, despite an MPA, and a grade point average of 3.56, Hill has yet to find a job in his field.

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“I’ll go to where there is an opportunity and get experience. I applied for a job in Iowa,” which is pending, Hill said. He had hoped to stay in Connecticut and be around his friends, but now Hill is focused on starting his career, wherever that may take him.

The opportunity to be involved in Cheshire’s budget process has given him a broad look at the daily expectations and challenges of public administration and particularly that of a Town Manager.

“They need to know a broad aspect of everything,” Hill said. “Being a town manager is not something I would shy away from,” he added.

Milone has shown him the necessity of being well rounded, Hill added. “He has a way with certain personalities, he has negotiating skills and he’s very smart when it comes to numbers,” Hill said of his mentor.

The next few weeks will give Hill the opportunity to put together reports on the town’s new single stream recycling program. He’ll also meet with other department heads and attend capital budget meetings.

“I love everybody I work with,” Hill said. “They don’t look at me like I’m an intern, I feel like an employee.”


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