December 8, 2020 ~ Select Board Meeting

2020-12-08 · Select Board · 1:12:47 · watch on YouTube →

A virtual Select Board meeting on 8 December 2020 with all five members present. Most of it was given over to the process for hiring Durham's first town manager, with David Barrett, director of personnel services at the Maine Municipal Association, walking the board through his search proposal and answering questions from members and from residents. The board accepted the purchase of service agreement with MMA and authorized the chair to sign it, and agreed to hold the public needs assessment in January rather than squeeze it into the 22 December meeting, since this appearance had only been posted a day or two beforehand. It also settled how to treat recreation money that went unspent because the seasons did not happen, and began framing what to budget for the overlap and severance of the current town administrator if she is not the one hired. Department reports covered winter road work, a GPCOG equipment-sharing co-op, fire department certifications, and a giving tree that had run out of tags.

What was discussed

1. 0:04
   Roll call and virtual meeting procedure

   Kevin Nadeau called the meeting to order and took a roll call to confirm all members could be heard, with Rob Pontau, Richard George, Todd Beaulieu, Marc Farrin and himself present. Board members were asked to turn their cameras on when speaking; members of the public were told it was optional.

2. 0:04
   Public comment: Durham lights tour map

   Heather (?) told the board she had made a map of Christmas light displays through town from routes residents reported, and that some people were having trouble accessing it online. She asked to print copies for the town office.

3. 0:04
   Whether the map can go on the town website

   The board suggested posting it as a PDF as well. Ruth, the town administrator, noted the town has previously stayed away from putting other organizations' material on the website because of concerns about it not being a town thing; a member said that technically they probably are not supposed to and that they would ask forgiveness later.

4. 0:04
   Introduction of the MMA search consultant

   David Barrett of the Maine Municipal Association was introduced as the person who will assist with recruiting and hiring a town manager. He described his role as director of personnel services, covering both internal HR for MMA's roughly 112 employees and fee-for-service work for member communities.

5. 5:09
   Barrett's background and the current market

   Barrett (?) said he has been with MMA since January 1985 and does on average six to ten executive searches a year, alongside representing towns in labor negotiations. He attributed recent demand to Maine's aging population, with managers retiring, and to burnout over the last four or five years.

6. 5:09
   Timing against the April town meeting

   Durham's town manager authorization takes effect at the annual town meeting on the first Saturday in April. Barrett (?) recommended starting recruiting on 1 January, since advertising over the holidays is a fool's errand, which would leave a candidate ready around town meeting.

7. 5:09
   Notice for the needs assessment

   The chair said the board had told the town the needs assessment would be a significant opportunity for public input, and that he had been caught off guard because this meeting and Barrett's appearance were only posted a day or two in advance. He proposed starting the discussion tonight but allocating a properly noticed future meeting to the formal needs assessment.

8. 10:35
   Scheduling the needs assessment

   Barrett agreed public involvement matters both because the board said it would and because it lends credibility to the search. The 22 December meeting was thought too tight, and a member was scheduled to be away the week between the holidays, so early January looked better.

9. 10:35
   The needs assessment step

   Barrett (?) described the kickoff meeting as the board, staff and citizens talking out loud about what skills, training and expertise the community needs, looking three to five years ahead. It builds board consensus and feeds directly into the advertisement, his resume screening and the interview questions.

10. 10:35
    Advertising and resume handling

    Barrett drafts the advertisement for board review after a conversation about where to place it, since placement has financial consequences. Resumes come to MMA, are acknowledged with a schedule of events so candidates do not pester town staff, and are reviewed after a fixed closing date.

11. 10:35
    How many applicants to expect

    Barrett (?) said that before the pandemic he would have expected around 30 to 35 for a town of Durham's location, size and demographics. Two recent recruitments for towns further north, more rural and smaller drew 45 and 63.

12. 15:57
    Quality of recent applicant pools

    Asked whether the larger pools were any good, Barrett (?) said that of the 63 it was easy to set aside about 35, but there were still two dozen credible candidates. He screens the pool into groups rather than down to a shortlist, and the board can see all of them if it wants.

13. 15:57
    Interviews, checks and negotiation

    After an executive session to narrow the field, first-round interviews are now usually by Zoom, with Barrett preparing materials and attending. Most of his clients try to hold second-round interviews face to face because they do not want to hire someone they have not met, and background checks, reference checks and help negotiating the deal follow; the whole process runs about 12 weeks.

14. 21:16
    Where the public fits in the process

    Barrett (?) said that 20 or 30 years ago boards rarely involved anyone else and now it is rare that they do not. The two usual points are the needs assessment at the front end and the finalist stage, so that other people's time is spent on candidates the board is seriously considering.

15. 21:16
    Forms wider participation can take

    He described giving department heads 45 minutes as a group with the two finalists without the board present, or walking a candidate round to spend 20 minutes with the public works director at the garage. A board member agreed the field should be narrowed first, with public input on desired characteristics gathered informally rather than through a formal committee.

16. 21:16
    Out-of-state candidates

    Asked whether these searches go national, Barrett (?) said out-of-state applicants were the biggest growth area in the two recent recruitments. Advertising is now almost exclusively electronic because that is how people look for work.

17. 27:13
    What advertising costs

    Barrett itemised it: free on MMA's site and the Vermont Municipal League's, about $150 each for New Hampshire and Massachusetts, about $450 for the International City Managers Association job bank, plus Live and Work in Maine and Indeed, coming to around $800 to $900. The Maine Sunday Telegram is about $1,000 for a single Sunday.

18. 27:13
    Which local paper to use

    The board noted Durham has no single local paper: the Sun Journal near Auburn, the Portland Press Herald toward Freeport and some Times Record, with the Sun Journal the pick if forced to choose at about $400 for a Saturday and Sunday together. The total of roughly $900 to $1,300 was said to fit within the money the town approved for the search.

19. 27:13
    How far the consultant screens the field

    Richard George said he had understood the search would narrow 50 or 60 applicants down to five or six rather than leaving the board to do the initial screening. Barrett (?) said he will screen to whatever number the board asks for, but that towns historically want to see some of their choices; in his recent Waterville search, 70 applicants became just under 30 for the committee.

20. 32:38
    Purchase of service agreement terms

    Barrett (?) confirmed the only additional costs beyond the quoted price would be advertising and any decision to reimburse candidate travel, with no separate expenses billed. Payment is all at the end, when the product is done.

21. 32:38
    What happens if the search has to restart

    Asked how many candidates the fee covers, Barrett (?) said going back into the pool for more people is part of what has been paid for. Only a genuinely new search would be charged again, and even then at an hourly rate rather than the full $6,400.

22. 32:38
    If no manager is hired by town meeting

    The chair raised the question of what happens if the first Saturday in April arrives without a successful hire. Barrett (?) said that date is when the town becomes authorized and empowered to have a town manager rather than a deadline, so the town could carry on as it is or appoint an interim manager.

23. 38:28
    Roll call on the MMA agreement

    The chair confirmed the town's warrant article simply asked whether the town wanted to adopt the state town manager plan, so the April date is permissive. The board then voted by roll call on accepting the agreement and authorizing the chair to sign.

24. 38:28
    Deferring the needs assessment questions

    Asked whether there was any low-hanging fruit worth covering that night, Barrett (?) said to wait, since demographic material such as population, budget size and employee numbers he can gather himself. The qualifications and skills conversation is the important part and there is no reason to have it twice.

25. 38:28
    A first town manager versus a replacement

    Asked what is different about hiring a first-ever town manager, Barrett (?) said prior experience under the manager plan matters more when nobody in town has worked with one. Otherwise everyone is learning at the same time, which he said can be harder.

26. 43:55
    What the needs assessment will look like

    Heather (?) asked whether the board would be rating a list of typical criteria. Barrett (?) said it is a verbal conversation: some requirements are givens, such as budgeting, keeping on top of municipal finances, supervising staff and communicating with the board and citizens, while the Durham-specific questions are whether the manager is also road commissioner or general assistance administrator, whether they do economic development, and whether they negotiate with unions.

27. 43:55
    A job description from ground zero

    Asked whether a job description should be drafted before the needs assessment, the board confirmed the town does not have one. Barrett (?) offered to send samples from other towns, noting there are about 200 town managers in Maine, so the board can start from an existing description and put it on screen at the needs assessment for public comment.

28. 43:55
    Executive session and who may take part

    Asked whether any stage is legally closed to non-board members, Barrett (?) said the board is entitled to be in executive session from the end of the needs assessment onward, because it will be reviewing privileged resumes, interviewing, or negotiating. The board may invite others into those sessions on the understanding that they cannot disclose anything, and applicants' names are never made public.

29. 49:35
    Board of Appeals asks for land use weighting

    Barbara Schneider, chair of the Board of Appeals, asked that the land use boards be specifically invited to the January needs assessment. She argued land use experience should be weighted strongly given the development pressure the town faces and the need for ordinance shepherding, since there is no longer an ordinance review committee.

30. 49:35
    Notifying committees and a search page on the website

    The chair agreed and suggested the land use boards develop a joint point of view to bring to the larger meeting rather than adding extra meetings, and undertook to notify all town committees, including the budget committee, when the date is set. He also said he would ask staff to create a town manager search section on the town website holding draft job descriptions, the schedule and meeting notices.

31. 49:35
    Suggestion of a representative hiring committee

    Michelle Richardson (?) described her experience on school board hiring committees, where public input came at the front end and the second interview was narrower, the reverse of Barrett's model. She recommended that any hiring committee be built to reflect the variety of the town, as school committees are built to include parents, teachers and board members.

32. 54:48
    Action items from the search discussion

    The chair listed the to-dos: set a January date for the needs assessment in correspondence with Barrett, and Barrett to forward sample job descriptions. The signed agreements would be returned electronically, with Steve Gove signing for MMA.

33. 54:48
    Unspent recreation allocations

    Ruth (?) asked what to do before the last warrant of the year with money allocated for Little League, softball and the 4-H trip. The board treated it as budgeted money that went unspent, which returns to the general fund and is reauthorized in the next budget, noting there had been no baseball, no softball, no 4-H trip and no field maintenance.

34. 54:48
    Snowmobile club payment

    Ruth (?) raised the snowmobile club separately. Members considered it payable because the club will be grooming trails.

35. 54:48
    Budgeting for the transition

    The chair raised what to build into the 2021 administration budget for the period between the current arrangement and a new town manager: how much overlap the board wants, and what severance to budget for Ruth if the town administrator position ends and she is not the person hired.

36. 1:00:14
    Overlap and severance figures

    Ruth (?) said she had provisionally budgeted ten months of a town manager and four months of herself, but expected less, and that Barrett's 12-week timetable pushes a hire to mid-March. The chair suggested about a 30-day overlap and recalled a severance of two months of pay and benefits, or a $10,000 round figure, with Ruth to work out what eight weeks actually comes to.

37. 1:00:14
    Board's remarks on the transition

    A member said both parties should reach a mutual agreement on the package rather than have it dictated. The chair said publicly that Ruth had been outstanding and professional through what he assumed was a stressful process, and that the board wanted her treated properly however it worked out.

38. 1:00:14
    Road commissioner's report

    Calvin was absent and Rob Pontau read his report: the first storm was handled, shoulder work was completed, all the winter sand is in, and he is working on the budget and taking SkillPath training over Zoom with Ron on delegation skills. Ditching will continue if the weather holds until the next storm.

39. 1:00:14
    GPCOG resource-sharing co-op

    The main item from the road commissioner was a co-op GPCOG is assembling for towns to share equipment and personnel at set rates without being locked in. Rob Pontau compared it to Maine WARN on the sewer side, citing Brunswick lending a bypass pump to the Freeport Sewer District at the prevailing rate.

40. 1:05:27
    Fire department report

    Chief Moore (?) reported calls continuing to run ahead of last year and the budget in good shape. He recognised Joe Lamont and Chris Higgins for passing their certification exam, a course that was interrupted by a five-month layoff and that they chose to compress into about two and a half months rather than start over.

41. 1:05:27
    Fire department recruitment

    Three members are going to the program starting in January. Someone came to the chief's office the previous day looking to get into a basic EMT class.

42. 1:05:27
    Consent agenda

    Item 6A was removed because the minutes of the 24 November meeting were not ready for approval, leaving 6B, the accounts payable warrant. The board voted on it by roll call.

43. 1:05:27
    Boy Scouts bottle drive and the giving tree

    The chair recognised Durham Boy Scout Troop 145 for its annual bottle drive supporting the town giving tree, done in cooperation with Becky. Becky (?) reported two applications, all tags checked out, a donation received and a meeting with the Scouts on Thursday, with six or eight people coming in on one day wanting to donate or take a tag when there were none left.

44. 1:10:38
    Where the giving tree tags come from

    Members asked whether the tags had previously come from Lisbon; Ruth thought it was a bit of both and that Lisbon is seeing the same shortage of people coming forward this year. Becky (?) said she had contacted the school and put applications on its board, left applications at a local store, and asked local churches to announce it.

45. 1:10:38
    Upcoming meetings and adjournment

    The next meeting was set for Tuesday 22 December at 6:30 p.m., with nothing then scheduled until Tuesday 12 January, though the needs assessment might fall between them. The board adjourned on a roll call.

What was decided

• 0:04
  Allow Heather to bring the Durham lights tour map to the town office for copies to be made available to residents, and post it on the town website as a PDF. Agreed in discussion with no objection; no formal vote was taken, and the administrator's caution about hosting non-town material was noted and set aside.passed
• 38:28
  Accept the Purchase of Service Agreement with the Maine Municipal Association as presented, and authorize the Select Board chair to sign it. Roll call with yes votes from Rob Pontau, Richard George, Todd Beaulieu, Marc Farrin and Kevin Nadeau; the minutes record the motion by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau, carried 5-0.passed
• 54:48
  Hold the public needs assessment meeting at a date to be set in January rather than at the 22 December meeting, so that it can be advertised well in advance, with all town committees notified. Agreed in discussion; no formal vote was taken.passed
• 54:48
  Do NOT pay out the amounts allocated for Little League, softball and the 4-H trip. The board agreed these were budgeted items that went unspent because the activities did not take place, so the money returns to the general fund and is reauthorized in next year's budget; anyone who asks for payment is to be told to come to the next meeting. Agreed in discussion; no formal vote was taken.passed
• 54:48
  Pay the snowmobile club its allocation, on the basis that the club will be grooming trails. Agreed in discussion; no formal vote was taken.passed
• 1:00:14
  Have the town administrator build the 2021 administration budget on the basis of roughly a 30-day overlap between the current arrangement and a new town manager, and a severance in the region of two months. The choice between a $10,000 round figure and eight weeks of pay and benefits was left open pending her calculation, and the chair said nothing discussed needed a vote.passed
• 1:00:14
  Put the GPCOG resource-sharing co-op on the agenda of the next meeting as an action and discussion item, while noting GPCOG has not finalized the agreement so there is nothing to vote on yet. Agreed in discussion; no formal vote was taken.passed
• 1:05:27
  Remove item 6A from the consent agenda, the minutes of the 24 November meeting, because they were not ready for approval. Held over rather than voted on.tabled
• 1:05:27
  Approve the consent agenda, consisting of item 6B, the accounts payable warrant, after the removal of 6A. Roll call with yes votes recorded; the minutes record the motion by Rob Pontau, seconded by Todd Beaulieu, carried 5-0.passed
• 1:10:38
  Adjourn. The transcript has Richard George moving and Rob Pontau seconding, with a roll call of yes votes; the written minutes record adjournment at 7:23 p.m., carried 5-0.passed

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Motions the minutes record

The town's own written account of what was decided, taken from select_board_minutes_12-8-20_final.txt. It owes nothing to the recording or to a model: the clerk typed it, with the vote. Where the summary above claims a decision this list does not carry, the summary is the part to doubt.

• accept the Purchase of Service Agreement as presented, and that the Select Board Chair be authorized to sign that agreement with the Maine Municipal Associationcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau

• approve the Consent Agendacarried 5-0

  Moved by Rob Pontau, seconded by Todd Beaulieu

• Adjourn at 7:23 p.mcarried 5-0

  Moved by Kevin Nadeau, seconded by Rob Pontau

Worth knowing

• 27:13
  The MMA search fee was given as $6,400, with advertising on top at roughly $900 to $1,300 depending on whether the town buys newspaper space. A single Sunday in the Maine Sunday Telegram costs about $1,000, roughly doubling the advertising cost on its own.
• 32:38
  The first Saturday in April is the date the town becomes authorized to have a town manager, not a deadline to have hired one. If no candidate is in place by then, Durham can continue under its present arrangement or appoint an interim manager.
• 1:00:14
  The board began budgeting for the possibility that the current town administrator is not the person hired: roughly a 30-day overlap with a new manager, and a severance of about two months, discussed as either a $10,000 round figure or eight weeks of pay and benefits.
• 1:05:27
  The town giving tree had drawn only two applications and had run out of tags, with six or eight people turning up in a single day wanting to take one. The application deadline was extended to the end of that week.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 2 passages of motion language, against 10 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

← 2020-11-24 Select Board2020-12-22 Select Board →All meetings