Wellington restates town administrator employment agreement after debate; amendment to remove auto‑renewal fails

The Wellington Board of Trustees on Sept. 23 approved Resolution 39‑2025, adopting a restated employment agreement with the town administrator that removes the need for an annual formal renewal vote while preserving statutory reappointment procedures and board authority to terminate.

Town attorney Dan Sapienza presented the draft restated agreement and said the purpose was largely administrative: consolidating prior amendments into a single restated contract and eliminating the requirement that the board take an explicit contract renewal vote each year. Sapienza said annual performance evaluation language remains in the agreement and that pay adjustments continue to follow the town’s merit and cost‑of‑living processes.

Trustee Teets moved to amend the restated agreement to retain annual re‑approval of the contract; Teets said annual renewal strengthens board accountability and preserves a regular formal review point. Several trustees disagreed. Trustee Keenan urged removing the one‑year term, saying it is standard practice for municipal administrators and that performance is enforced through annual evaluations and the board’s authority to terminate for cause or without cause.

The board voted first on the amendment to remove the auto‑renewal. The amendment failed on a roll call vote (yes: Trustee Teets; no: Trustee Wiegand; no: Trustee Cannon; no: Trustee Daley; no: Trustee Moyer; no: Mayor Pro Tem Mason; no: Mayor Shosse). After the amendment failed the board then voted to approve the restated agreement as presented. The final roll call on Resolution 39‑2025 was: Trustee Daley — yes; Trustee Moyer — yes; Trustee Teets — no; Trustee Wiegand — yes; Trustee Cannon — yes; Mayor Pro Tem Mason — yes; Mayor Shosse — yes. That motion passed 6‑1.

Sapienza and trustees clarified that: (1) the town administrator remains subject to annual performance evaluations; (2) the town remains able to reappoint the administrator after elections as required by state statute; (3) the board retains full authority under state law and town code to remove or terminate the town administrator (with cause or without cause) subject to the contract’s severance provisions; and (4) compensation information remains available as a public record and pay remains tied to the town’s pay grades and merit/cola pools. Several public commenters urged the board to preserve annual public review; trustees responded by pointing to existing executive‑session evaluation practice and the statutory process for reappointment.