Jeanie Forrester: Selectboard extends offer to new town manager

The Nov. 13 meeting of the Meredith Selectboard focused solely on our recruitment efforts to hire a town manager for Meredith.

In August, the selectboard entered into two contracts with Municipal Resources Inc. The first was to hire an interim manager until a new manager was hired. The second was to recruit a new town manager by employing a rigorous and thorough process which would take approximately five months.

While the process was longer than we would have liked, given the significance of the role it was important that we used a professional recruitment process to cast a wide net and carefully vet the candidates to assure the best fit for our community.

A town manager serves as chief executive and administrative officer of the town, responsible for the proper administration of all the departments of town government. Unlike a town administrator, the town manager has the statutory authority to hire and fire all employees under their supervision as well as set their compensation. The town manager does not have any authority over the town clerk or treasurer.

In Meredith, the town manager oversees our operating budget of approximately $20 million and manages 67 full-time and 48 part-time employees, 12 of whom report directly to the manager. There is one collective bargaining agreement for the Department of Public Works and Water & Sewer employees.

MRI interviewed selectboard members individually to learn what we were looking for in our new manager: someone who is a strong and regular communicator of information to the board and the public, has a collaborative mindset, possesses demonstrated managerial and interpersonal skills and has the ability to confidently lead and motivate a dynamic staff, and be active and visible with employees and residents.

Advertisements for the position included a salary range up to $150,000, which is a competitive range for a town the size of Meredith. Twenty-eight applicants from New Hampshire and beyond responded to the ad, of which MRI selected eight they thought had the qualifications and experience to lead our community. The eight candidates received and responded to essay questions developed in consultation with the selectboard. From those eight, MRI selected five applicants for telephone interviews with their staff (which included two veteran municipal managers). Based on those interviews, three candidates moved forward to meet with the selectboard. All the final candidates are from New Hampshire.

We interviewed the finalists in a nonpublic session and while all were highly qualified, one candidate stood out among the others, and on Nov. 14, a conditional offer was made and accepted. The next step in the process is a comprehensive background check with our goal to have the new town manager in place in January 2025.

The next meeting of the selectboard is on Monday, Nov. 25, and we will be briefed on the Community Development and Administrative Services budgets. A reminder that our budget hearings will be at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 2, 4, and 5, and residents are encouraged to attend.

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Jeanie Forrester is vice chair of the Meredith Selectboard.