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Brookfield select board debates shared treasurer, interim town administrator hiring plan
Summary
At its Dec. 17 meeting, the Brookfield Select Board debated using a shared treasurer arrangement with a neighboring town, drafting an RFP for treasury services, and whether to post a part-time, interim or full-time town administrator position; members agreed to post separate interim and permanent listings (20–40 hours) and to pursue initial liaison and procurement steps.
The Brookfield Select Board spent much of its Dec. 17 meeting addressing staffing gaps in town administration and finance, debating whether to pursue a shared treasurer arrangement with a neighboring town and how to proceed with recruiting a town administrator.
The board discussed a 30-hour treasurer posting that currently bundles human-resources duties. Members said the neighboring town had expressed interest in a shared arrangement and asked whether the HR duties could be removed from the treasurer posting to reduce work hours. The board authorized a liaison to make initial inquiries about a shared treasurer arrangement and asked a board member to pre-screen treasurer resumes and conduct phone screens before bringing candidates forward for interview. No formal hiring decision was made at the meeting.
On the town administrator role, members and residents debated whether to recruit an interim (20–40 hours), part-time or full-time official. The board reviewed the town personnel bylaw, which defines a full-time schedule as 20 hours or more per week, and agreed to post two separate openings: one interim (20–40 hours) and one permanent, each noting a 20–40 hour range depending on experience and availability. A board member said posting both options should expand the applicant pool without changing voters’ prior direction.
Residents urged transparency and adherence to prior town meeting votes. One resident noted that “at two separate annual town meetings, the voters voted for a full-time town administrator” and urged the board not to convert the position to part-time without returning to voters. The board replied that the interim posting is intended as a stopgap while the town seeks a permanent hire and that any permanent change to a voter-funded position would be addressed openly.
The board also discussed procurement for treasury services: members debated whether to run an RFP for outsourced treasury services or to obtain a quote from a procurement contractor to draft and run the procurement. A motion passed authorizing a board member to draft procurement documents and to forward them to town counsel for review.
What’s next: the board will (1) have the designated liaison consult with the neighboring town about shared-service options and clarify duties, (2) post separate interim and permanent town-administrator advertisements with a 20–40 hour range, and (3) circulate draft procurement documents for treasury services to town counsel for review before issuing an RFP or request for quotes.
