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Dover town administrator praised in evaluation; board awards $10,000 bonus
Summary
After a human resources summary of the evaluation, the board praised Town Administrator Michael Blanchard's leadership and approved a $10,000 bonus tied to his FY26 performance.
The Board of Selectmen presented and discussed a formal performance evaluation for Town Administrator Michael Blanchard and voted to award him a $10,000 bonus.
Human resources director (S6) described the evaluation process used to avoid open‑meeting law violations: selectmen completed individual evaluation forms that the HR director summarized. Blanchard received high combined scores across five categories — management and planning (4.48), communication and collaboration (4.45), staff recruitment and development (4.4), financial management (4.5) and professional development skills (4.78) — based on a five‑point scale described during the presentation.
Board members offered effusive praise, citing improvements to the town’s staffing, financial operations, transparency initiatives (OpenGov and website redesign), and modernization efforts. After discussion, the board voted to apply the top end of the contract bonus range and award a $10,000 bonus for FY26 performance.
Blanchard thanked staff and credited the broader town team for the progress. The board agreed to finalize administrative steps consistent with the town administrator contract.
