BY STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—The Brandon selectboard held a special meeting Monday night at the Town Offices to allow the public to weigh in on the recruitment process for the next town manager and to decide the board’s own next steps. Current town manager David Atherton submitted his resignation last week, effective February 21. Mr. Atherton will become town manager in Pittsford.
After opening the meeting, with roughly 25 people in attendance, board chair Seth Hopkins announced that he would be recusing himself from the entire process. According to Hopkins, multiple people had reached out to suggest that he apply for town manager himself and, though he hadn’t previously considered it, he was now making his interest known and therefore couldn’t participate in the hiring process. He then left the meeting, turning it over to Tracy Wyman, vice-chair.
Board member Tim Guiles then proposed a 7-point process for selecting the next town manager:
- Board accepts the resignation of the current manager
- Board lays out the process by which a new manager will be chosen
- Board seeks community input
- Board recruits candidates
- Board interviews candidates
- Board assesses candidates
- Board makes final choice
Guiles then proposed the formation of a diverse 3-person citizen advisory group to assist the board in identifying and assessing qualified candidates, in order to maximize transparency and community input, a point which drew applause from some attendees.
During the public comment period that followed, attendees questioned whether 3 members would be enough for a citizen panel and whether the board had a sufficiently broad understanding of “diversity.”
Guiles replied that the board saw the panel as reflecting “the composition of the community” but that there were “many ways to be diverse.” He also stated that he was not wedded to 3 as the final number.
After additional public discussion regarding the optimal size of a citizen advisory panel, where some attendees cautioned that too many members would make the process ineffective and others warned against setting a specific number at all, it was decided that the language “up to 5 members” would be adopted.
It was also decided that the members of the panel would be chosen from among those who signaled an interest by Monday, February 13, 2023, via written letter, phone call, email, text, or conversation with any member of the selectboard. Mr. Guiles has offered his own contact information:
Tim Guiles
44 Carver Street
Brandon, VT 05733
Call or text: (802) 279-2168
Email: tguiles@townofbrandon.com
The board moved to approve both the 7-step process and the creation of a “diversity and inclusion” citizen advisory committee of up to 5 people. Both motions passed unanimously.
Discussion then turned to how the town manager position would be advertised. Guiles proposed that the search be conducted “in house” rather than through a recruitment firm that would cast a wide net. According to Guiles, “in house” simply meant seeking local candidates who are already familiar with the area.
“There’s a lot of talent here,” he said.
However, attendees pushed back on the idea of limiting the search to local candidates, given the realities of the labor market and the community’s desire to reach candidates from different backgrounds. It was then decided that “in house” would be taken to mean that the search would be conducted through the board’s own efforts rather than through a recruitment firm or service.
A board motion to conduct the search “in house” (i.e., through the board’s own efforts) passed unanimously.
Much of the debate around the hiring process stemmed from a desire in the room that both the advisory panel and the candidate search emphasize diversity and inclusivity. There was much concern that the position be advertised widely in order to reach a broad range of applicants. There was also concern that the members of the advisory panel be chosen on the basis of their ability to represent the community rather than on their ability to write persuasive letters of intent.
It was also urged that the board not limit its advertising to The Reporter, Front Porch Forum, and Facebook. It was suggested that someone with experience in online recruitment be consulted.
The board then moved to end the public comment portion of the meeting, in anticipation of the planned, closed-door executive session in which an interim town manager would be selected.
In an email received later Monday evening, Tim Guiles informed The Reporter that Bill Moore had been selected as interim town manager. Mr. Moore is currently the town’s Economic Development Officer. He will start the position on Monday, February 6, working with Mr. Atherton until Mr. Atherton’s final day on February 21, after which he will fill the role until a permanent manager is hired.
Guiles also stated that Moore will receive additional financial compensation during his tenure as interim town manager and that Moore has signaled his intention to apply for the permanent position as well.
As of Tuesday, two candidates have already made their interest in the position known: Seth Hopkins and Bill Moore.
The next phase of the search, according to Mr. Guiles, is to draft an updated job description in the next few days and “publicize widely in our region.”
