After a four-month search, Woodstock has a new town manager.
Eric Duffy, 40, of Stoneham, Massachusetts, was unanimously approved in a joint Select Board and Village Trustees meeting on Nov. 28. He starts his new role Feb. 1.
“Eric had tremendous financial responsibilities, which he accomplished in a very award-winning way in his last job in Massachusetts,” Jeff Kahn, the vice chair of the Village Trustees, said in a phone interview. “We thought that was a transferable skill to what we wanted here. We liked his financial finesse.”
A search committee formed in July that included members of both the town and Village boards as well as Woodstock residents Tom Debevoise and Laura Powell. St. Albans Town Manager Dominic Cloud was also onboarded as a search consultant to guide the boards through the process. About 30 candidates applied for the position. Of those, nine were interviewed and four were selected for final interviews.
Duffy will take over for William Kerbin Jr., who voluntarily resigned on May 2, according to a separation agreement. Tom Yennerell, who was formerly the town manager in Springfield, took over as interim town manager over the summer. Prior to Kerbin, Woodstock was led by Phil Swanson, who was the longest running manager in Vermont before he died in 2019.
While Duffy grew up in Massachusetts, he said he’s already familiar with Woodstock. He and his wife, who works remotely in marketing, got married in Quechee and they visit Woodstock about twice a year. “It’s always had this special feeling for us,” Duffy said. “It’s always had a unique experience that attracted us to it.”
Duffy has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Bentley University and a master’s degree in international politics from the University of Newcastle in England. He lived in Burlington for two years and worked as a case manager for the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program.
Prior to Stoneham, he served in administrative positions in both Salem and Lowell, Massachusetts. He’s also done fundraising and planning for the American Cancer Society, and taught in schools in the U.S., China and Korea.
“It’s the next logical step,” Duffy said of the reason for applying to the town manager position. “I built my way up in different departments and organizations. When the position came up, it was like here’s an opportunity for me to have a position in a town that I really have a connection to and you don’t find that very often.”
Stoneham is a city outside Boston with a population of around 23,000 — larger than Woodstock’s population of around 2,900. Duffy will be responsible for managing a $1.3 million Woodstock Village budget and $6 million town budget. He’ll also oversee the police, fire and rescue departments.
He’ll receive a $130,000 salary in 2023 and $5,000 for relocation expenses, according to a copy of his contract. He’ll also receive retirement compensation, four weeks of paid vacation, 12 sick days and be eligible for health and dental insurance.
Duffy will be hired under an initial six-month probationary period and if he’s let go within that time period, he’ll receive six months of severance pay.
Duffy said he’s made trips to Vermont to search for housing and plans to continue searching on weekends. Duffy will be required to live in Woodstock or in a town that borders Woodstock, according to Kahn.
“We feel he’s going to be a wonderful fit,” Kahn said. “We hope he has a very long run.”
