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Debate over hiring process; Select Board moves to appoint candidate and revisit compensation
Summary
Board members argued over whether the administration had followed standard hiring procedures before approving a conditional appointment; the board approved the hire but asked to revisit service-credit and compensation details at a future meeting.
Select Board members on Aug. 6 debated the town’s hiring process before approving a candidate’s appointment and agreed to revisit compensation and years-of-service credit at a subsequent meeting.
One member raised procedural concerns, saying, "I think we have to follow process, and we can't offer a job when we just got the information," and urged that the board see resumes and discuss terms in open session. Staff responded that interviews had been conducted by deputy chiefs or department heads and presented the standard practice used for non-department-head hires.
Staff described the town’s approach to recognizing years-of-service and offered an option of 2.5%, 5% or 7.5% above base pay for longevity; staff recommended the 7.5% figure, saying, "I recommended the longevity at the 7.5 due to her years of experience." After discussion about parity with current employees (including a referenced example, Shauna), the board moved, seconded and approved the appointment. Members asked staff to return at the next meeting with a written agenda item to consider retroactive service-credit and finalize pay.
The board also noted a date error on the acceptance paperwork (the acceptance date reads June 24) and agreed the date can be changed and the compensation item be placed on the next agenda for possible retroactive application.
