Barre Select Board Takes Town Administrator Search Away From Volunteer Committee

BARRE — June 19, 2020 — Barre Select Board votes to review town administrator candidates itself, sidelining search committee. The board voted 2-1 at its June 19 meeting to receive all new applications directly and conduct its own review ahead of a July 6 meeting, rather than return submissions to the volunteer search committee that had already vetted an earlier pool of 16 candidates. Members identified as Dylan Clark and Greg O'Sullivan voted in favor; Matt Herben cast the lone dissenting vote, warning that dismissing the committee's work would discourage future volunteer participation: "You're not really encouraging town participation on volunteer boards." The board also unanimously approved the June 30 Annual Town Meeting warrant and added one-twelfth budget authorizations for the town's water and sewer enterprise funds to its fiscal-year-end contingency plan, after a town financial official confirmed the vote satisfied state Department of Revenue requirements.