DIXFIELD – Interim Town Manager John Madigan, who has helped the town for the past six months, will stay for one week after the new town manager arrives.
Selectmen at Monday’s board meeting approved retaining Madigan for his regular half-time hours for the week of Jan. 17-20. The town’s new manager, Jeff Jacobson of Waite Park, Minn., is scheduled to begin work at 8 a.m. on Jan. 17.
He’ll barely have time to greet the municipal staff before he enters a 10 a.m. meeting with Madigan (as Mexico town manager), Rumford Town Manager Stephen Eldridge, and the three police chiefs from Dixfield, Mexico and Rumford who will discuss the possible merger of the three departments as part of the area’s efforts toward regionalism.
“This will be a good way to start,” Madigan said.
Madigan also volunteered to help with Jacobson’s transition each Monday for an unspecified period of time.
Vice chairman of the board, Eugene Skibitsky, said his town owes neighboring Mexico a huge thank you.
“I want to publicly thank them for sharing, for helping us out,” he said.
The two towns began sharing Madigan, who was full-time town manager for Mexico, in late June after Dixfield Town Manager Nanci Allard left. The towns then extended the interim status of Madigan to try to learn whether a shared situation would succeed.
Although Madigan said the day-to-day responsibilities of the job could be covered by one manager, he said long-term planning and goal setting was not possible under the arrangement.
Madigan will return as Mexico’s full-time town manager on Jan. 23.
Jacobson was chosen from a pool of 16 applicants from throughout Maine and several other states. He holds a master’s degree in political science and public administration from St. Cloud State University. Although the Dixfield leadership position will be his first, he has interned under municipal administrators in St. Cloud, Winsted, and Waseca County, all in Minnesota.
A reception for Jacobson and his family will be scheduled once they are settled in.
Also on Monday, the board appointed two new Finance Committee members, to bring the committee up to 11 people. They are Norman Mitchell, who is also a Planning Board member, and Geoffrey Low. The Finance Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11, to begin the 2006-07 municipal budget process.
Also appointed to the Planning Board were David Harvey, as a full-time member, and Terry Mitchell as an alternate.
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