RANGELEY – Perry Ellsworth of Strong is the new town manager of Rangeley.

On Monday, the 53-year-old began overseeing a town with a year-round population of 1,053, which multiplies seasonally during both winter and summer.

Right now, Ellsworth said he plans to get to know employees, learn what’s going on and find out what they have for a system now. There are 25 full-time municipal employees.

“Rangeley already has top-notch employees,” Ellsworth said. “It’s going to be fun working with these employees.”

The town doesn’t have a lot of industry, Ellsworth noted. It’s a service-oriented town.

Ellsworth was one of 26 candidates, who applied to replace former Town Manager Bill Lundrigan whose last day was Dec. 31, said Rangeley selectman Chairman Mark Beauregard.

Selectmen picked six of the top 10 applicants to interview and then narrowed that down to three for the second round. Beauregard said the board stopped after interviewing Ellsworth and didn’t bother to call the other two in for a second interview.

Ellsworth has agreed to a two-year contract with a $47,000 salary for the first year, not including benefits, Beauregard said.

Ellsworth seemed to be well-connected in Franklin County area, has a lot of human resource skills and had made a conscious decision that public management was going to be his new career, Beauregard said.

“He was really interested in the job,” Beauregard said. Ellsworth had worked at International Paper in management for more than 25 years.

He is chairman of the Strong Board of Selectmen. He has served as a town official since 1996 and as chairman since 1999. Ellsworth was also the Franklin County Budget Committee chairman from 1999 to 2003.

In Rangeley, Ellsworth will oversee an existing $2.8 million budget. A new budget is expected to go to voters June 15.

Ellsworth said he’ll be working along with other employees to provide the best services to residents and to hold the line on taxes as best as they can. He also said he’ll work to provide Rangeley an opportunity to be better connected to the rest of Franklin County.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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