SABATTUS — There are hard stats (the town comprises 26.7 square miles), soft sells (Sabattus Pond is pretty; the ocean isn’t too far away) and what’s-expected-of-you nitty-gritty (successful grant writer, financial savvy).

So far, it has enticed 25 people, mostly from out of state, to apply to become the next town manager in Sabattus.

Last month, interim Manager Jim Bennett took the unusual move of designing a four-page Town Manager Recruitment Brochure and posting it on the town’s Web site. In full color. With photos.

That recruiting tactic is uncommon in Maine, even less so in towns with 5,002 people.

“We don’t see them very often,” said Maine Municipal Association spokesman Michael Starn. “You have to think about how you market your community. It appears Jim is taking this seriously.”

Starn learned about the brochure from another town manager. It’s a tool to get at people who may not have considered the career move, he said, and it offers a primer on the town to those from away.

“If you’re reaching outside of Maine, the (name) Sabattus doesn’t mean much,” Starn said.

Bennett said Tuesday that he was inspired by his own job search. He accepted the interim position in September, designed to last six months, after having his contract bought out as city administrator in Lewiston.

He showed a draft of the brochure to the Town Manager Search Committee, which added its reasons for living there to an “About Sabattus” section: The safest town in the county, a good school system and four seasons for recreation.

“(It gives) them some flavor of what the community stands for,” Bennett said.

The listed responsibilities are long, as are the prerequisites: at least three years of municipal supervisor experience, some willingness to move to town, being prepared to try to grow the tax base, and finding “affordable solutions without putting additional strain on the citizens.”

Bennett anticipates receiving as many as 60 applications by the Dec. 17 deadline.

Sabattus residents voted a few years ago to switch to a town manager form of government. The new hire will be the second person to hold that post.

“There is an expectation the person is going to be able to make a difference,” Bennett said.

With 200-plus town managers in Maine, there are about a dozen openings at any one time, Starn said. Most smaller communities expect to hire from within the state and assume applicants will be familiar with the hiring towns, which is why most towns don’t develop recruitment brochures. There’s also cost: Attracting out-of-state interest can mean springing for airfare at interview time. Bennett said town officials hadn’t yet discussed that.

The town hopes to have a new manager hired by Feb. 5 and on the job March 1.

“I’m not sure this is a profession you go into to make a living,” Bennett said. “It’s a profession that’s a calling. There are way too many headaches to put up with if you don’t have this in your blood.”

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