Milner out as Meredith town manager, police chief serving as interim

MEREDITH — Town Manager Judie Milner has been fired after about 1.5 years serving the town, and Police Chief Michael Harper will start as the interim manager effective Oct. 5.

Chris Janosa, director of human resources and special projects, through an email sent at the request of the selectboard, stated the selectboard “made the decision to relieve Town Manager Judie Milner of her duties.”

The selectboard voted during a non-public session Thursday morning. Chair Steve Aiken said there was “nothing juicy” as far as the reason for dismissal. Despite turmoil in recent months — including the town voting in March at Town Meeting on an advisory warrant article to switch to a town administrator — he said the termination was due to “differences in management style.”

“The selectboard voted to let Judie go without cause,” Aiken said. “We wish Judie the best and really it is just different directions on what we are looking to accomplish.”

According to state law, the town manager can be removed from office by a majority vote of the selectboard “at any time for cause.”

Aiken said no members of the public were present for the meeting, held at the Meredith Community Center at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 1, which immediately went into non-public session. It was advertised on the town website as a non-public selectboard meeting.

Aiken declined to comment on the vote. Aiken said the minutes will be available at the next selectboard meeting on Monday, Oct. 19. A discussion about the differences between town manager and administrator government structures will be held that night, as well.

In a letter submitted to The Daily Sun on Friday, Milner addressed the Meredith community, saying she is “deeply grateful” for how the community welcomed and supported her. She called it a privilege to serve the town.

Milner noted how fortunate the town is to have so many wonderful assets, not only the natural resources, but also the town’s dedicated staff, and the “extraordinary spirit of volunteerism.” She said she believes there are great things coming in Meredith’s future.

“Although our time together was brief, I am truly honored to have had the opportunity to serve you as Town Manager,” Milner wrote. “We accomplished a great deal in a short time, and I am proud of what we were able to achieve together.”

Aiken said the selectboard has high confidence in Harper. Aiken said Thursday that Harper is currently working with the town’s human resources department to put together a contract “as we speak.”

“The selectboard has felt that he led his department well,” Aiken said. “He’s a well-known figure in town, and it is a good opportunity for us to have someone we know everyone can work with, as we approach Town Meeting in March.”

Milner is the former city manager of Franklin, a role she held from 2017 until Feb. 28, 2025, when she resigned. She was quickly hired to serve Meredith, starting on March 31, 2025, reportedly chosen out of a pool of 33 applicants. According to the online job posting at the time, the town manager’s salary was up to $160,000.

At the last Town Meeting in March, a secret ballot vote was taken to change the structure of government from a town manager to an administrator.

The change was proposed by former Public Works Director Mike Faller, who gathered signatures for a petition to have the measure included on the warrant. However, due to wording issues, the warrant article was only advisory. The vote on the article, which came 4.5 hours into the meeting, passed with an 88-55 vote.

Faller stated when he put together the petitioned article, it was not solely because of Milner, but rather a series of dealings with town managers over his 28 years leading the public works department.

One of his concerns was the difficulty in terminating the position if necessary. He said the town manager could only be terminated through statutory procedures.

Harper spoke to Milner on Thursday, and said it was a brief, but positive, conversation. She was not at Town Hall on Friday, and Aiken said Janosa was handling her duties for the day.

Aiken said the selectboard will wait to hire a new employee to lead Town Hall once it is clear what voters want. He said there is no sense in hiring a new town manager if there is a warrant article at Town Meeting asking voters to make a change.

“We expect him to be in the interim until at least Town Meeting,” Aiken said of Harper.

Harper said, on Friday, he was sifting through aspects of his contract with HR to codify what his responsibilities are, and make sure everything was set with his retirement account. He said he was ready for the task at hand, and has experience managing his department as far back as 2005, when he was a sergeant, as well as the past five years as chief.

“I am well-schooled in managing people,” he said.

The selectboard will meet at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 19, for the discussion about the forms of government, as well as approving fire and police grants.