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Council Asked Why Town Administrator Hired Melville Park Steward Without Council Vote
Summary
At the June 9 Portsmouth Town Council meeting residents and councilors debated the town administrator’s temporary seasonal hire for Melville Park, with questions about whether the appointment required council approval and how liability and funding would be handled.
Town Administrator Luis Raynor announced a temporary seasonal pilot position to serve as a Melville Park steward and said the pay would be capped at $8,000 for a 20-week, part-time assignment.
The announcement prompted questions from resident Larry Fitzmaurice and others about whether the council had to approve the hire and the funding source. Fitzmaurice said the council’s practice has been to approve new positions and their funding and asked why that had not happened this time. "I believe that these things, when we add personnel to our employees in town government, council is supposed to be approving the position and the funding," Fitzmaurice said.
Raynor replied that the position is a temporary seasonal contract and that past practice has been for seasonal hires to be handled by departments, not the council. "This person is not going to be a town employee. They're going to be a contract employee, just like seasonal employees we've hired through DPW over the past 5 or 10 years," Raynor said. He said funding exists in the Melville Park budget line and that the $8,000 cap keeps the pilot within existing appropriations.
Town Solicitor (name not given) said he reviewed the charter provision Fitzmaurice cited and did not believe that the charter required council approval for a temporary, seasonal hire assigned to an existing department. He advised that if the position becomes permanent it should be included in the next budget for council approval.
Residents raised liability and insurance questions. Tom Grebe asked whether the contractor would supply liability insurance and whether the town would withhold taxes. Raynor said the hire will be under a 1099 contract and that the town carries insurance; staff said they would follow up with a definitive answer the next morning.
Council members suggested modest next steps: asking the solicitor to screen for potential ethical conflicts if the committee chair also serves in a paid role, preparing a job description for the ethics commission if needed, and directing staff to confirm insurance and contractor paperwork before the steward starts. No formal council vote was taken on the hire; Raynor said the recruitment and appointment fall within administrative authority for seasonal/contract hires.
Councilors and residents also discussed committee continuity and whether the Melville Park Committee could sustain volunteer maintenance without the pilot. Raynor said the pilot is intended as a short-term experiment to evaluate whether a part-time steward improves trail and vegetation maintenance and whether a permanent part-time position should be proposed in the next budget.
The council did receive two resignations earlier in the meeting (including Mr. Luce’s resignation from the Melville Park Committee) and approved other routine reappointments and committee vacancies by recorded motions during the meeting.
