By Curt Peterson
Hartland has a new town manager.
John Broker-Campbell, 44, was officially appointed Tuesday, Jan. 2, with a salary of $92,000 and full benefits.
“John clearly demonstrated that he has the skill set, experience and enthusiasm to be a successful town manager for Hartland,” Select Board chair Phil Hobbie said in a website press release Wednesday morning.
Hartland’s town manager position has been vacant since David Ormiston, the previous position holder, was terminated in May. The selectboard immediately began a search for a new manager by engaging Tom Yenerell of Municipal Management Services, Inc., a consultant in the business of finding key town employees, who began a national search in July. Eight candidates were interviewed.
During the interim, Finance Director and Delinquent Tax Collector Martin Dole, also filled the town manager’s shoes, Hobbie said.
Hobbie said the selectboard supported Dole in his additional post, which has involved completing the Three-Corners intersection project and interviewing prospective providers of expanded policing services, among other challenges.
Broker-Campbell, who lives in Weathersfield, told the Mountain Times he grew up in western Michigan and graduated from the University of Wisconsin/Green Bay in 2007 with a degree in environmental policy and planning. He and his wife Kelly married that summer, and moved to Vermont, where Broker-Campbell began working for Southern Vermont Regional Planning Commission (which is now Mt. Ascutney Regional Planning Commission).
Broker-Campbell earned his emergency management badge when Tropical Storm Irene devastated Vermont in 2011. The storm caused $13.5 billion in damages and killed 47 people in the region – the demand for advocacy and administrative skills was enormous.
A subsequent flood event in 2015 caused significant damage in a third of the state, Broker-Campbell said. He went to work for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation as a regional Flood Plain Manager for much of southern Vermont. Floodplain managers work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to oversee the National Flood Insurance Program.
“The idea of being a town manager had been percolating in my head for some time,” he said. “I thought I was ready. Then I saw the Hartland job posting in October and sent in my resume by the deadline in November.”
Kelly works at the River Valley Tech Center in Springfield. The couple have one son, Benjie, who attends the Weathersfield School.
Broker-Campbell has also served in voluntary positions in Weathersfield, including as a member of its Zoning Board of Adjustment. An avid mountain biker in his spare time, he recently won a trip to Moab, Utah in a Vermont Mountain Biking Association fundraising raffle.
“The trip to Moab was an excellent end-of-year excitement,” he said.
Broker-Campbell said he’s excited about meeting and working with the residents, employees and officials in Hartland.
“I’m looking forward to working for Hartland for years to come,” he said.
