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Date: 9/12/2023
SOUTHAMPTON — Jon Lumbra, a member of the Selectboard, emphasized that deadlines are fast approaching for the board in hiring a new fire chief and town administrator.
“By my calculations, we are 16 weeks away from the departure of our town administrator,” Lumbra said.
The window to find an administrator is shrinking. The town’s current administrator, Ed Gibson, will be retiring at the end of the year. The board solicited the services of a recruitment firm. Three responded, including the Collins Center, Municipal Resources Inc. and Community Paradigm Associates.
Proposals from the three recruiters were distributed and reviewed by board members. Lumbra voiced appreciation for CPA and MRI, liked their proposals, but preferred a Massachusetts company. CPA and MRI are located in New Hampshire.
Christine Fowles, chair of the board, was confident any one of the three firms would be suitable. But which would best partner with the board?
“MRI seemed a bit top heavy,” Fowles said. “Collins…they’re heavier on the human resources piece…The other ones are little bit broader [but] it just matters how we choose to work with them.”
Fowles anticipated a $5,500 cost for an executive search firm. That was low. The cheapest estimate received was $7,000, with a high of $12,500, plus advertising.
Dan LaValley, clerk of the board, paused over CPA’s additional charge of $300 for advertising. He didn’t think it was enough, sufficient reason to raise a question.
“The CPA is being conservative in their $300 estimate for advertising,” LaValley said. “If you want to recruit someone quicker they’re gonna have to spend more.”
Lumbra replied that candidates looking for an administrator position know to look to the Massachusetts Municipal Association website for job leads. Gibson added that the MMA’s databases and networks are amazing. Lumbra also said the $300 estimate for advertising would be low if it involved print advertising, which is more expensive than online ads.
“Anyone in municipal government, if that’s the job they want, they’re checking that every Monday morning,” Lumbra said of the MMA’s databases.
The search committee for the final review and selection of candidates has not been authorized by the Selectboard. Fowles said the search firm will conduct a general call for interested applicants and screen them for the top contenders. That will take much of the burden off a volunteer committee.
The makeup of the town’s review committee still needs to be finalized, with Lumbra advocating for a smaller, Selectboard centered committee. Fowles sent her first idea of the committee around to board members, but was open to changes.
“Draft one was what I had presented last meeting, with nine members, one Selectboard member, four members from the general public, and four representatives from town departments,” Fowles said. The outside consulting firm “would do all advertising, recruiting and screening of initial applicants.”
Lumbra lobbied for a committee that wouldn’t become “a free for all” or a discussion of the last five town administrators. He also thought responsibility should ultimately rest with the Selectboard. A veteran who has presided over the creation of many town bodies, Fowles agreed for a different reason, that it might be difficult to find enough residents willing to serve.
“We can say the buck stops here with the five,” Fowles said, referring to the Selectboard. “Finding a town employee may not be the problem. Finding four members of the public may be the difficult part.”
Lumbra made a motion to hire Community Paradigm Associates to execute a candidate search and initial vetting, with $13,000 in funds devoted to the effort. Of that, $5,500 will come from existing Selectboard appropriations and $6,500 from American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds, which the town is free to spend as needs arise.
The town’s need for a fire chief will also require the services of recruitment professionals. The pressure to find a head for the Fire Department is not as urgent, since Richard Fasoli is serving as interim chief. Fowles asked board members to consider what kind of qualifications and background would be preferred.
“Let’s everybody commit to talking about whether we need a strong chief or not,” Fowles said. “Do we need someone with an EMS background or a managerial background?...We’ll pick that up as a high priority for our next agenda.”