Dennis Simmons, director of the Wiscasset Ambulance Service since February 2019, will be Wiscasset’s next town manager.
The Wiscasset Board of Selectmen voted 5-0 to approve the hire after a brief closed-door session Tuesday, July 7. Simmons will begin his new role Aug. 3.
Simmons told the selectmen he is thankful for the opportunity to serve as town manager and work on the challenges facing the town. “I look forward to the next chapter in my life,” he said.
Simmons brought 17 years of experience in emergency medical services as a volunteer and full-time employee to his current job in Wiscasset. He was a paramedic in Belfast for four years and a division commander with Northeast Mobile Health Services for eight years. Before coming to Wiscasset, he worked for a private service in Massachusetts.
During an interview upon his hiring as ambulance director, he said he moved to Maine to be closer to family in the state and to get back into administration. He has a degree in public administration from the University of Maine and a degree in liberal arts.
In other business, the selectmen appointed Donald Davis to the waterfront committee and voted to declare the fire department’s ladder truck surplus equipment and request bids for its sale.
The selectmen will meet to approve the warrant for annual town meeting at 8 a.m., Thursday, July 9. The special meeting is necessary due to last-minute issues with the language of school department budget articles.
The budget committee gave its recommendations to every warrant article during a meeting July 6.