FOXBORO - Some selectmen over the years have failed to comply with Town Manager Andrew Gala's contractual right to be provided with a formal set of goals to work toward, and an annual written performance evaluation.

Newly elected selectman Larry Harrington raised the issue during last week's board meeting. He urged the new board to meet these obligations, which are designed to help the manager to know and achieve what's expected of him.

"Not only is it a violation of his contract; it is poor management and oversight not to set goals and objectives, evaluate in writing, or review performance in public," Harrington said later.

Gala, who is in his 29th year as Foxboro's town manager and has a year left on his current three-year contract, said he would welcome having the board of selectmen set goals for him and evaluate his performance each year.

"Setting goals would give me a clear idea what issues or projects they want me to work on," he said. Gala said, some boards of selectmen have reviewed his performance, some haven't.

He said he received an oral evaluation from selectman Paul Mortenson about four months ago, and written evaluations earlier from then selectmen James Thrasher and Mark Sullivan.

Mortenson disagreed with the suggestion that Gala has not been evaluated. But Harrington read excerpts from Gala's current contract, and asked if indeed the goals have been established and the manager's performance reviewed in writing.

Gala's contract calls for selectmen to evaluate his work at the time of his employment anniversary.

The chairman is to present him with the document, and he must be given him time to discuss the review with the board, the contract says.

In an interview, Gala said he has no objection to making the results of his review public, which some past boards of selectmen have done.