Select Board ratifies retroactive appointment of Town Manager Brent Raymond as acting zoning administrator

The Morristown Select Board unanimously voted on Feb. 18 to accept and sign a resolution retroactively appointing Town Manager Brent Raymond as acting zoning administrator, making the appointment effective Sept. 19, 2024 and ratifying actions Mr. Raymond took in that role.

The resolution was read into the record and explained by an attorney who drafted it. The attorney urged transparency, saying in part that "sunlight is the best disinfectant," and recommended that the board correct the procedural error by ratifying the appointment rather than trying to conceal it. The resolution notes the planning director position was vacant and that state statute normally requires nomination by a Planning Commission; the board concluded the Planning Council could not perform that nomination while the planning director post was vacant.

Town Manager Brent Raymond acknowledged an administrative mistake, apologized and said, "the buck stops with me" and that he had consulted legal counsel upon learning the statutory requirement. He described a practical problem that prompted an interim action: a contractor could not be paid because a lender interpreted a permit finish date as an expiration; Mr. Raymond amended the permit to resolve the lender’s concern. The board and the attorney explained most zoning permits are valid for two years and can be extended by the zoning administrator.

Several residents and planning stakeholders spoke during public comment. Some defended Mr. Raymond’s intent to help a landowner and described the action as an honest, practical fix. Others urged adherence to statutory processes — including having the Planning Council or a Planning Commission make nominations and the village trustees sign off — and questioned why the resolution retroactively dates to Sept. 19, 2024 rather than to a later corrective date.

After discussion the board moved to adopt the resolution. The motion (moved by Richard, seconded by George) passed by roll call vote; the board recorded the vote and the motion carried unanimously. The board and administration said they will continue a public process about whether to convert the Planning Council to a Planning Commission and how to staff zoning responsibilities going forward.

The board recorded the action and will include the ratification in the public record; staff also said they will follow up on remaining permit corrections and any related lender questions.