DIXFIELD – Selectmen unanimously appointed Minnesota native Jeff Jacobson as town manager Tuesday night.
Jacobson was chosen from 16 applicants from throughout Maine and several other states.
His appointment came with an annual salary of $38,000, subject to a six-month review that could raise it to as much as $42,000. The board also granted a $2,500 moving allowance for him and his family, two weeks vacation, and 13.5 paid holidays.
Jacobson holds a master’s degree in political science and public administration from St. Cloud State University. He has interned under municipal administrators from St. Cloud, Winsted and Waseca County, Minn., and is from the town of Waite Park.
This will be his first position as a town manager.
“He’s a people person who is willing to learn,” Selectman Eugene Skibitsky said.
Board Chairman Tony Carter said current Town Manager John Madigan and Rumford Town Manager Steve Eldridge will likely mentor Jacobson at the beginning of his tenure.
“We’ll have a good town manager,” Carter said.
Madigan, who will preside over his last selectmen’s meeting on Jan. 9, agreed to help the new administrator, particularly as the annual budget development process begins.
Selectmen and Madigan interviewed two finalists last week before choosing Jacobson. The second finalist was from New Hampshire.
Madigan has served as town manager for both Dixfield and Mexico for the past six months. Prior to that, he was full-time manager for Mexico, a position he will return to once Jacobson is on board.
After the town manager interviews last week, Carter said the two towns had given the shared managerial arrangement an honest try.
“Maybe it can be done again in the future. Maybe we need to be farther along in regionalization,” he said.
Although Madigan has said that he could handle the day-to-day routines of the two towns, he said insufficient time was available to pursue long-term planning and goals for each.
In other matters on Tuesday, a joint meeting of the Planning Board and Road Advisory Committee was announced for Jan. 12. The two boards are working on road standards that will be voted on at the June annual town meeting.
Also, Finance Committee Chairman Scott Dennett said his committee was meeting on Jan. 11 to discuss development of the town’s 2006-2007 budget. Selectmen will wait until the new town manager is settled in before meeting with the Finance Committee.
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