Barre Select Board Interviews Two of Three Town Administrator Finalists

BARRE — June 8, 2017 — Barre Select Board interviews two town administrator finalists, delays deliberation for dedicated session. The board questioned two of three candidates Thursday in open, televised sessions, with a third finalist scheduled for the following Monday; members agreed afterward not to rush deliberations into an existing meeting night but to set a separate date — tentatively that Thursday or as late as July 10 — to weigh the finalists in executive session. The first candidate, an executive assistant from the Town of Palmer who manages that community's roughly $36 million annual budget, cited procurement experience and two municipal grants obtained for Palmer. The second, a former U.S. Navy logistics commander and private-sector CEO, described overseeing a $446 million fuel budget and achieving $25 million in cost avoidance, but acknowledged no formal municipal grant-writing background; he committed to relocating from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, if hired. A board member flagged a salary-budget timing problem, noting that town meeting is roughly ten days away and the administrator line item must be set before a contract is negotiated — the same bind the board navigated when hiring the police chief, who ultimately received retroactive pay above the budgeted figure.