Former Wiscasset Town Manager Arthur Faucher signed a separation agreement with the town on Jan. 22 and interim town manager Don Gerrish is helping selectmen in the process of seeking another candidate for the position. During the following Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday night, Gerrish outlined several points selectmen ought to address as they move forward in the process. He said hiring a new town manager for Wiscasset is his first priority.
“The key component is for all of you to decide what the process is going to be,” Gerrish said.
A memo made available from the town office regarding the agreement between Faucher and Wiscasset states they have mutually agreed to part ways, “following a disagreement over how some local police came to take ‘comp time’ in late 2009.” The agreement was resolved to remove uncertainty and expense associated with litigation, the memo states, and the two parties part on mutually agreeable terms that apply to Faucher’s employment contract.
Gerrish put decisions in the hands of selectmen as to how they would go about the process of a town manager search, leaving open the possibility for public input. One of the options could include a citizen committee to conduct interviews or selectmen might decide to conduct the interviews as a board. Gerrish suggested selectmen gain input from the public regarding what they would like to see in a future town manager.
The town can then put all of the information together and advertise for the position.
“You have to emphasize what you want in a person when you put the advertisement out,” Gerrish said, also suggesting some qualities they might consider as the board moves forward, such as previous experience, strong knowledge of financing and personnel issues. “Many times you can’t get the perfect person. There’s no one that has all of your criteria, but you can at least send a message to the people who are applying, ‘this is what we are looking for’.”
Gerrish said one advertisement in the Portland Press Herald would cost over $900. He said some communities run advertisements three or four times, but did not think it is the best use of municipal funds. Gerrish suggested they run one advertisement in the Portland Press Herald to attract applicants from within Maine. He also suggested the town advertise for the position in municipal government group websites, such as through the Maine Municipal Association.
Gerrish said he would look at all of the submitted resumés and narrow the choices down to about 20 applicants for the town to choose from. Selectmen may choose to look at all of the resumés that come in, but Gerrish said their time would be better spent on applicants most closely suited to the position.
Resident George Green suggested the town take into consideration the resource available through Wiscasset High School. He said he spoke with the principal about the possibility of involving students in a web-based project to assist the process of hiring a town manager. He suggested maybe the school could put up a website in conjunction with whatever the town is going to do.
Green added that Wiscasset, being on the coast of Maine, offers a pleasant atmosphere for retired people who have a wealth of experience in multiple fields. His address to the board indicated there is the possibility numerous educated and experienced people might be interested in the position. He mentioned a neurosurgeon from Philadelphia who moved to Belfast and formed a team of his own at the local hospital. Green said the team formed, in part, due to people’s interest in Penobscot Bay and quality of life.
“There are people out there who would come and work for the town of Wiscasset more for the challenge and the job to be done than for the money involved” he said.
Green added he was not sure if a town manager should have a strict time limit on the term of contract. In response, Gerrish said the terms of a contract would be ironed out between the town and candidate during contract negotiations. He said there would likely be some sort of probationary period to be sure the candidate would be the right fit for the town.
“It’s not only what the board wants,” Gerrish said. “You’re going to have to get a fit with the person, too. It’s almost like a marriage.”
Gerrish added the town is going to have to have at least a two to three year contract with a new town manager. Green reiterated his suggestion regarding students from the school participate in the process, adding such a project would get youth involved in the workings of local government.
“Would they get better grades?” board chair Bob Blagden said.
On his way out the door, resident Clark Jones posed the question to the board as to whether a town manager would be needed at all. Jones said he spoke with some people about town who suggested the local government revert to a three person Board of Selectmen and not hire a new town manager. Selectman Dunning said the board chair would then fulfill the role of town manager were that the case.
