Brattleboro, Vermont is beginning its third attempt to find a new town manager.
Last year, Brattleboro’s then-town manager Barbara Sondag left the post to accept a job in Missouri. Sixty-two people applied for the position in an initial search and 43 during a second round. On Tuesday, the selectboard opened its third search for a manager. Brattleboro Reformer Day Managing Editor Bob Audette has written about the search for a town manager. “They’ve made offers to three different people and all three offers have fallen through for one reason or another. We’re not privy to see any of the resumes of the forty or so people that have submitted applications for the job. I know the people want to come to Brattleboro to work. And I know that the challenges that Brattleboro is facing as far as economy and infrastructure and capital planning, I think that the right candidate is really looking forward to those challenges. As far as finding somebody who’s compatible with what’s in place already, I think that’s where they’re hitting this roadblock. Finding that perfect person who can come in and hit the ground running.”
Calls to the Brattleboro selectboard chair were not returned, and the leader of the citizen search committee declined comment. The former had criticized the latter last week for comments in the Brattleboro Reformer he felt violated the confidential nature of the search process. Despite that incident, Audette says there’s no personal issues or controversies influencing the search. “I’ve been covering Brattleboro and the region for ten years and this selectboard is probably one of the most functional selectboards Brattleboro has had in that ten years. They have the selectboard, a citizen’s commission, and a group of employees who are all reviewing these applications. So there’s a lot of people involved as far as reviewing applications and saying yes or no. But when it comes down to it, it’s the selectboard that’s making the final decision.”
According to Audette’s article, the town board initially offered a salary between $75,000 and $90,000, which was increased during the second search to a range of $80,000 to $95,000.
The Vermont League of Cities and Towns provides recruitment assistance to its members and is working with the town of Brattleboro.
Executive Director Steven Jeffrey says recruiting town managers is becoming particularly challenging as applicants consider various factors including the overall economy. “We’re seeing a great turnover in longtime town managers in many of our towns. The issue is recruiting the replacements and it seems like there’s not as many people interested in serving certainly in town government. I’m not sure whether it’s the compensation that people feel comfortable paying. Whether it’s being the point of conflict in a lot of communities, a lot of pressures will be focused on the office of the town manager and the town. So there could be a lot of different factors that are playing in here that are more global in nature than just some of the local issues.”
The application deadline for Brattleboro’s town manager position is Aug. 18.
