Monday forum will outline government structure differences in Meredith

MEREDITH — Town Manager Judie Milner has been tasked with explaining two types of town government at a forum on Monday, following a Town Meeting vote reflecting a desire for change.

The petitioned article, which was advisory due to a wording technicality, was submitted by retired Public Works Director Mike Faller, and signed by 31 residents. Faller was concerned the current form gives too much power to the town manager, and not enough to the selectboard.

The article was the last item on the Town Warrant at the meeting, which lasted more than four hours, and passed with a vote of 81-55. By that time, about half of the 250 voters were left. 

The issue is expected to come before voters again in 2027.

Petition

Faller said in an interview he brought the petition to switch from a town manager to an administrator based on his personal experience leading the public works department, as well as speaking with employees, other department heads, and residents. He also said state law dictates what power the town manager has, and he said many times it means the selectboard has very little say. Faller called it “free reign” for the town manager.

Leading up to Town Meeting, Faller reached out to members of the selectboard for guidance, and published a letter to the editor with a side-by-side comparison of the manager and administrator roles.

In the letter, he wrote the town manager is in charge of hiring and firing employees, and also prepares the budget, with direct purchasing and spending authority. Faller said the manager can only be fired through specific statutory procedures.

A town administrator, on the other hand, is a position governed by the selectboard. The administrator’s authority is defined in the job description approved by the board. In this format, the selectboard has the authority to hire and fire employees, and the administrator supervises staff. The budget is prepared by the town administrator, with spending authority delegated by the selectboard.

Most town governments in the Lakes Region are led by selectboards and administrators, including the nearby towns of Belmont and Gilford. The closest community with a town manager is Plymouth.

Faller said this was an idea in the works for years, due to multiple town managers with whom he'd disagreed on a number of issues, including suggestions on a highway garage he said could have saved millions of dollars.

He was critical of the community development department rearrangement, several recent hiring processes, and that the selectboard often finds out about issues “last-minute.”

Town Meeting discussion

Residents at Town Meeting spoke both in favor and against the proposed change. Jack Carty, who once chaired the school board and has been seated on town committees, praised the selectboard, saying “you couldn’t hire this talent,” and he supported an administrator.

Meghan Theriault is a town resident and the director of the public works department in Gilford. She said at Town Meeting the administrator system works “excellent” and provides “good transparency” there.

Theriault understood Faller’s concerns there could be a bottleneck of information being relayed from a department head to a manager before getting to the selectboard. In her case, as a department head, she has normally already spoken with the administrator.

She said she was “100% in favor of the article.”

Others voiced opposition to the change, including Rick DeMark, who said he lives by the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra.

Another was Bob Manley, resident and owner of Hermit Woods Winery & Eatery on Main Street. He praised the town staff for their hard work, and while everything isn’t always perfect, he hopes the strong management of the town can continue, as it has for many years.

Manley wrote a letter to the selectboard and Milner, shared with The Daily Sun on Wednesday, reiterating his “strong support” of the town manager, and the “professional administration it provides."

Manley wrote Meredith has evolved into a “complex and vibrant community,” and today’s challenges go beyond the day-to-day municipal functions. Examples were infrastructure planning, economic development, environmental stewardship, personnel management, tourism impacts, public safety, and state and federal regulations.

Manley wrote the current structure creates a balance between governance and administration, noting the selectboard should be there to represent voters, establish policy and provide oversight, rather than be in charge of day-to-day operations. He also said the current structure creates clearer accountability.

“A professional town manager also provides continuity and institutional knowledge that extends beyond election cycles and changing board membership,” Manley wrote. “Long-term planning and large-scale projects require steady leadership and coordination over many years.”

At a Feb. 23 meeting, several selectboard members told the public they did not support a change. Faller hoped the selectboard would include his article on the warrant. They opted against it, keeping it advisory.

Mike Pelczar, who was the chair at that point, said a change would add a lot more work for the board in a town growing with “a lot going on.” He thought the current form was appropriate.

“I personally don’t support the change,” Pelczar said Feb. 23.

Steve Aiken, who was vice chair and is current chair, said he felt blindsided by the article, and found it interesting around election time things like this show up from people who have “not shown their face in any meetings.”

Selectboard member Jeanie Forrester did not offer an opinion, but Pelczar thanked her for being a “wealth of knowledge.” She has lots of government staffing experience, including as a town administrator.

Forrester said in a phone interview in February she understands the difference between the roles, as she is a former administrator in Tilton. She noted one issue with the administrator is if selectboard members come along with an agenda, or who want to micromanage.

A manager is responsible for hiring and firing without the board’s say, which can also be frustrating.

Milner declined to comment on the petition and the vote.

What to expect on Monday

The Monday, May 18, forum will be during a selectboard meeting, as the only item on the agenda.

In a previous meeting, Milner suggested having someone from the New Hampshire Municipal Association come in and talk about the differences, rather than herself, to not be “self-serving.”

However, on Wednesday, Milner said the selectboard asked her to explain the difference. At the selectboard meeting on May 11, Milner told the board of plans to speak about five forms of government used across the state, and Forrester asked why, when there are only two forms in question. Milner said she could go over all options of government available in case residents wanted another form altogether, but Forrester recommended sticking to the two forms, so as not to make the matter more confusing.

“The whole purpose of this was because there was an advisory opinion about town manager versus town administrator,” Forrester said. “It wasn’t an advisory opinion on different forms of government.”

Milner wrote in an email Wednesday there will be no municipal association representative or town legal counsel present, but she will use information from the association.

“I will be using excerpts from a NHMA presentation,” Milner wrote in an email. “I may tweak the format a little. After, the town moderator will be facilitating a Q&A.”

The forum will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, May 18, at the Meredith Community Center.