Interviews to be held in early 2016
by Stephen Seitz
KILLINGTON—Let the winnowing commence.
“We just received the resumes,” said Patty McGrath, who is chairwoman of Killington’s board of selectmen. “The advisory committee will be going through them.”
McGrath said that 60 resumes have come in. The board used the Vermont League of Cities and Towns to lead the search, and VLCT collected the resumes. Attempts to elicit further information from VLCT were not successful.
Seth Webb, the current town manager, announced he would be leaving the position back in October. He will become managing director for Tusk Ventures, a political strategy firm which assists start-up companies in dealing with governments from small town to federal. Webb’s last day will be Dec. 31. Planning and Zoning Administrator Dick Horner has been appointed interim town manager, and has been working alongside Webb during the transitional period.
Horner said his own resume will not be in the pile received by VLCT. “No, I have not applied for the position,” Horner said. “I like what I’m doing as town planner.”
Horner said he was learning a lot in the meantime. “It’s been interesting working with Seth,” Horner said. “There’s a lot of detail and a lot of work.”
Webb’s successor will have plenty to do. According to the advertisement, the next town manager “directly supervises 104 full- and part-time employees, administers a $15 million budget, and oversees all financial, public works, public safety, personnel, economic development, recreation, and community relations matters for the town. Requirements include a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, three to five years of management experience, preferably in municipal government, and substantial knowledge of municipal government operations, the duties of municipal officials, and state and federal law provisions affecting municipalities.” “We’re looking for managerial experience, economic development experience, and financial administration experience,” McGrath said.
The job, according to the ad, pays between $75,000 to $95,000.
McGrath said the advisory committee is charged with selecting 15 candidates for further evaluation.
“There is no timeline on a final decision,” she said. “VLCT is also helping. They told us that candidates often have resumes out there in other towns, and therefore some may not be in contention.” One thing for certain, she said, is that Webb’s successor won’t be in place by the time the new year rolls around.
“We don’t anticipate any interviews before early 2016,” she said.
The advisory committee will next meet on Dec. 17 and start looking at the applications, McGrath said.
