Select Board makes TCTV director an employee, delegates non–department hiring to town administrator

The Select Board voted on Jan. 5 to change how the town engages the director of TCTV, and to clarify hiring authority for routine positions.

The town administrator explained that the TCTV director had been paid as a vendor through accounts payable, which would require an annual procurement or formal contract to continue. The board approved making the director an employee of the town; the motion passed with affirmative roll-call votes from board members. The board also voted to authorize the town administrator to negotiate an appointment contract with the director and to return the negotiated contract to the board for final approval.

Separately, the board voted to delegate hiring authority for budgeted, non–department-head positions to the town administrator (to expedite filling routine positions) while keeping department-head hiring and contract approvals under board oversight. The town administrator requested latitude to appoint interim department-head coverage in urgent situations until the board can meet.

Quotes from the meeting reflect both practical and procedural views: one board member described options for procurement versus employment and said making the director a town employee is the common-sense approach given his role managing town staff; the town administrator said a grant agreement approach was a third, less-common option but that making the director an employee would be straightforward.

Next steps: the town administrator will negotiate terms with the TCTV director and return a proposed contract to the Select Board; the administrator will exercise delegated authority to hire budgeted, non–department-head positions and will notify the board afterward.