Selectmen Contemplating Hiring Process for New Town Manager

With the selectmen now ready to find a new town manager, the board is now contemplating what the best process is. One option may using the Collins Group of UMass Boston, a group that specializes in searches for town officials.

Meeting with the selectmen this week, Richard Kobayashi took the board though the process that could be used if the institute is hired to help find a new town manager. “We view our job in a nutshell as making sure at the end of the process this board has 3 or 5 exemplary candidates for the position of town manager,” Kobayashi said.

After creating a profile for the job to the board’s approval, the top candidates selected by the institute would possibly go to a committee for interviews. While not finalized, members of the board were keen on creating a committee for interview purposes.

“I had envision that during the search for the town at some point we would form a screening committee for the 5-6 candidates,” Brue said.

The only rule for who could be on the committee would pertain to the selectmen to make sure that no more than two members can participate. A third member would represent a quorum be a violation of the open meeting law.

Once the final candidates are selected by the screening committee and background checks are performed, the selectmen take over for the final interviews and decision.

The entire process would take 90-180 days with the selectmen emphasizing a quicker process.

According to Kobayashi, the institute has had great success finding town managers. Of the 30 positions they have recruited for since 2008, 29 are still in their position.

The board will not vote on whether to use the Collins Institute until their next meeting on Sept. 17 at the earliest.