LISBON — After four months on the job, Assistant Town Manager Glenn Michalowski has been promoted to town manager.
The Town Council’s decision follows 10 months with an interim town manager and two unsuccessful hiring searches.
Michalowski, has held numerous roles in municipal government, including a recent three-year tenure as the assistant town manager in Maplewood, New Jersey, a community of 25,000 people.
Ryan McGee, police chief and previous interim town manager, said Michalowski has an abundance of municipal experience, has a positive attitude and demonstrates great communication skills.
Lisbon Town Manager Glenn Michalowski was sworn into office at last week’s Town Council meeting. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
“He’s very down to Earth,” McGee said. “He’ll sit there and listen to both sides of any topics going on. If he doesn’t know something, he’s certainly going to make sure he can get an informed answer to somebody. He’s very transparent, and that’s huge in government nowadays.”
After Michalowski was hired as assistant town manager in June, the town tried twice to hire a suitable town manager. During the first search, the selection committee identified no qualified candidates, according to McGee. A qualified candidate identified in the second search withdrew before the process could be completed.
“There are a lot of vacancies across the state for town manager positions, and it’s a very competitive process,” McGee said.
Following the second search, councilors approached Michalowski about taking on the position.
“After the second meeting and actually going through the interviews and seeing the candidates . . . we were seeing a lot of great qualities and leadership abilities that our assistant town manager (has),” McGee said.
While Michalowski said he has been interested in the town manager position from the start, he didn’t feel comfortable applying for it. Maine’s municipal laws are different from New Jersey’s, and he wanted time to learn. As one example, he said Maine towns are smaller and afford more local control than municipalities in New Jersey.
“I didn’t want to do a disservice to the town of Lisbon not knowing the statutory environment or having a lack of experience and not being super confident in my ability, I guess, at that time,” he said. “But as I’ve had a chance to grow in the organization and meet people I’m working with and work with this council, they had asked me and I kind of felt, yeah, I think it feels good, let’s do it.”
Michalowski said he sees the role of town manager as providing support to department leaders to make sure they are successful, calling them “experts in what they do.”
A New Jersey native, Michalowski moved to Portland in 2021 with his wife, who has ties to Maine. Before joining the Lisbon Town Office, he was the principal administrative officer in Portland’s information technology department.
But with less than a year with Portland, he began applying for assistant town manager jobs.
“I had missed the institutional leadership part of it, helping solve problems and coming up with solutions,” he said.
Michalowski holds a master’s degree in public administration from Rutgers University and has previously worked as a county archivist, census enumerator and municipal transportation coordinator.
“There’s a lot of community connection and community building (in Lisbon), and so it’s nice to be in a community that’s invested in itself,” he said.
After eight years as town manager, Diane Barnes left for the same role in North Yarmouth in January.
McGee became interim town manager for 10 months, the longest in Lisbon’s history, according to town records.
McGee will continue to assist Michalowski with projects until an assistant town manager can be hired.
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