Might the town be better served with a town manager rather than a town administrator? Would giving the town administrator more managerial decisions free the selectmen to spend more time on strategic ones, as Selectman Bill Johnson suggested at the Board of Selectman (BOS) meeting Tuesday? Johnson proposed looking at the town administrator’s duties to see if more managerial decisions could be included, using examples of BOS decisions earlier in the meeting—approving two charity bike race routes and dates and approving a DPW worker’s promotion.
“How do we want this town run? What is the most efficient way?” asked Johnson.
Selectwoman Marie Sobalvarro remarked that although some of their duties were trivial, particularly because of the preparatory work by Town Administer Tim Bragan, she appreciated knowing what was happening in town. She thought the current structure in which the board worked closely with the administrator kept communication flowing between the board and other parts of the town governance, and helped keep the selectmen abreast of what was happening in town.
When asked about the differences between a town administrator and a town manager, Bragan explained that the town administrator runs the day-to-day operations of the town with approval of the BOS, while under a town manager, the selectmen set policy, with authority delegated to a town manager to carry it out. The responsibilities of the BOS, the town administrator, and other town boards are spelled out in the town charter. Any changes would require approval by Town Meeting, Bragan said.
Selectman Tim Clark pointed out that the town administrator is a conduit for the communications from other boards and said that 90 percent of the town is governed by volunteers who depend on good input.
The selectmen tasked themselves with listing what each thought was working and what wasn’t, and agreed to consider making exploring management-versus-administration governance one of the board’s goals for the coming year, when it sets them out next month.
