DURHAM — Residents will have the opportunity to give input on the town manager hiring process, according to a plan approved by the Select Board on Tuesday.
Three residents will be chosen by the board to join the hiring committee. The others are three town employees and three selectmen, and interim Town Manager Mitchell Berkowitz, who will be a nonvoting member.
Former Town Manager Kathy Tombarelli resigned March 15 after nine months on the job.
Several residents spoke at Tuesday’s board meeting, asking for the public to be involved in the process and were allowed to provide input throughout the discussion.
Chairman Kevin Nadeau said the board “absolutely” intended to include residents in the process from the start.
The attendees expressed approval of the board’s final plan.
Residents interested in joining the town manager hiring committee must submit an application to the Town Office. The board and Berkowitz will interview applicants and select three.
Those chosen and Berkowitz will select a number of promising town manager applicants to bring before the full hiring committee for consideration.
The hiring committee will interview select candidates and recommend a maximum of five finalists to the full Select Board. The board will conduct a second interview with the final candidates and either make a job offer or backtrack to consider other applicants, if none of the three finalists are hired for the position.
“These five steps, I believe, bring your taxpaying citizens into the process, but still leave (the Select Board) with the statutory requirements for the final two phases,” Berkowitz said.
While the process has been approved, the timeline has not been determined.
Only the second half of the Select Board meeting is available for viewing online.
In a conversation Wednesday, Nadeau said the town’s public information technician resigned without notice Friday night. The technician was responsible for managing livestreams, updating the town website and social media, as well as the town’s weekly newsletter.
He said the town aims to resume communication with residents soon.
The board will meet next Tuesday.
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