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Commission debates degree vs. experience for town-manager role; leans toward experience flexibility
Summary
The Charter Commission discussed minimum qualifications for the town manager, weighing degree preferences against years of executive experience; members favored preserving hiring flexibility and suggested 5–10 years of full-time executive experience as a reasonable threshold.
Commissioners spent a detailed portion of the July 23 meeting discussing Section 421, which outlines qualifications for the town manager/town administrator. The question centered on whether to prefer a master's degree in public administration or to allow equivalent professional experience.
"All it says is preferably, not required," Committee member (S4) said of the degree language, urging flexibility. Several commissioners argued for experience-based qualifications, with one commissioner proposing "alternatively, 5 years or more professional experience shall qualify" in lieu of a master's degree. The Chair (S3) and others noted that many successful town managers have varied academic backgrounds, and they did not want to exclude candidates with substantial hands-on experience.
Discussion ranged through options (2, 5, or 10 years as examples). The group coalesced around preserving a preferred academic background but allowing an experience route—several members endorsed a 5-to-10-year professional-experience alternative. Commissioners asked staff to reflect this flexibility and to ensure the final text explicitly allows the Select Board discretion in appointment in exceptional cases.
No formal vote was taken; the Commission asked for redrafted language that balances preferred educational credentials with clear experience-based qualification paths.
