Barre Select Board Accepts Three Town Administrator Finalists After Process Dispute

BARRE — May 24, 2017 — Barre Select Board receives three town administrator finalists but debates whether the search committee followed its written charge. The citizen committee, which screened roughly 49 applicants through two rounds of interviews, presented three finalists at the May 24 meeting along with a full disc of applications and committee minutes. One board member — identified in the transcript only as Charlie — argued that the written charge required four finalists and that the committee's decision to include department heads in a second interview round skirted a confidentiality provision barring disclosure of applicant names outside the committee. The committee's representative, Dave, countered that resumes were never distributed and that candidates introduced themselves on their own terms, adding the external interviews were "very beneficial" and helped the committee make a stronger final decision. The board accepted the three names without a formal vote and agreed to meet the following Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. to build an interview schedule.