DIXFIELD – Thirteen people from throughout New England and several other states have applied for the position of town manager.
Selectmen Chairman Tony Carter said Monday night that the ad hoc hiring committee, made up of the town’s five selectmen, Town Manager John Madigan and Rumford Town Manager Steve Eldridge, will meet at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, to review the applications.
From there, each member of the hiring committee will choose three or four top candidates, then interviews will be set up with several of them. Carter said he hopes that interviews will be concluded by Dec. 19. He expects the chosen candidate to be announced at the Jan. 9 selectmen’s meeting.
Applications came from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Oregon, Michigan and Minnesota. All but two are men.
He said the applicants have a variety of backgrounds and levels of experience.
This is the third time Dixfield has advertised to fill the position since its last full-time manager, Nanci Allard, left at the end of June.
The towns of Dixfield and Mexico decided in August to share Madigan for several months, a first for the area’s goal toward more cooperative efforts among the River Valley towns. Madigan said last month that although he could manage the day-to-day operations of the two towns, insufficient time was available to pursue long-term planning and other goals for both towns.
Once a new manager has been chosen, Madigan will return to Mexico as its full-time manager.
The town is looking for someone who is innovative, up for change, and supportive of regionalization, Carter said.
“We want someone who can bring something new to the table,” he said.
Eldridge was chosen to serve on the hiring committee because of his support for regional efforts, Carter said.
Comments are no longer available on this story