Winslow Town Manager LaCroix leaving to take reins in Farmington

WINSLOW — Town Manager Erica LaCroix is leaving her position to become the top administrator in Farmington, officials from both towns announced Wednesday.

Selectmen in Farmington voted unanimously to offer LaCroix the position, and they are expected to vote Tuesday to formally appoint her, according to a statement from the board.

Winslow Town Manager Erica LaCroix. Photo courtesy of Erica LaCroix

“The Board of Selectmen received a total of 22 resumes for the town manager position,” according to the statement. “This was their third round of reviewing applicants, which started in February. They interviewed three candidates, all of whom were experienced town managers. All five selectmen agreed to offer (LaCroix) the position.”

LaCroix is to succeed Cornell Knight, who has been serving as Farmington’s interim town manager for the past seven months. Knight was hired to fill in for the town’s previous manager, Christian Waller, who stepped down abruptly in February.

“This is a good deal for us,” Chairman Matthew Smith of the Farmington Board of Selectmen said. “We got the cream of the crop here. We got lucky. I am very excited to start working with her. I feel Farmington has a bright future ahead with Erica at the helm.”

LaCroix’s office declined a request Wednesday for comment.

Smith said LaCroix, who is still the Winslow town manager, receives a salary of $95,000 in Winslow, and public records show Farmington’s town manager made $101,753 last year.

Originally from Mount Vernon, LaCroix graduated from Maranacook High School in 1988. She has worked in the public sector for more than 25 years, including positions with the Virginia Department of Transportation and the city of Lansing, Michigan.

LaCroix has served as Winslow’s town manager since 2020, the first woman to hold the position. She was named a “rising star” among Maine municipal leaders last year by the Maine Town, City and County Management Association.

Her tenure was marked by significant changes in Winslow, most notably the merger of the town’s Police and Fire departments. She also oversaw the first updates to Winslow’s sewage system since 1998, working to approve up to $6.8 million in bonds to make major upgrades to the town’s Chaffee Brook pumping station.

More recently, there were accusations, including from a current town councilor, that councilors were discussing town business during private meetings held out of public view. The town’s police chief, who went on to become public safety director overseeing the combined Police and Fire departments, was also accused by several former town employees of threatening and intimidating behavior.

Chairman Peter Drapeau of the Winslow Town Council praised LaCroix on Wednesday for her work, saying that while her move to Farmington is sudden, it is an understandable chance for her to take up a “new opportunity.”

“We wish her the very best going forward. We will miss her tremendously. She’s an intelligent woman,” Drapeau said. “This was her decision. This was nothing that (the council) ever mentioned. We were going to renew her contract and move forward, so, yeah, it took us by surprise.”

Winslow is expected to begin a search for a new manager in the next several weeks, Drapeau said.

LaCroix’s departure makes Winslow the latest community in central Maine to see changes in their town managers. In Oakland, the town manager was placed on paid administrative leave without explanation a few weeks ago, while Pittsfield recently announced the hiring of a new town manager.

Madison has a new manager, too, while Winthrop announced in May it had hired a new administrator. Waterville and Belgrade have also hired new managers in recent months.

LaCroix’s start date in Farmington is set for Dec. 13. Her last day in Winslow has yet to be announced.