I believe that the Select Board should reconsider and should hire a search firm to help identify the best candidates for Harvard town administrator.
The town administrator position is the top position in Harvard. This position impacts every aspect of town government, including finances, operations, and volunteers, among others. For residents to have trust in town government, hiring for this position must be transparent and free of conflict of interest. An independent search firm will provide both. In addition, this is a search for a senior candidate. With no disrespect to the Select Board, they are not human resource professionals with experience in hiring. An independent search firm will know how to identify, recruit, vet, and rank candidates given that no one candidate will have all the desired skills and experience.
There is a cost to hiring a search firm. But the town administrator position is one of the highest salaries in town and the cost of hiring a search firm is a small percentage of that salary. Instead of being penny-wise but pound-foolish, I ask the Select Board to reconsider and to use a search firm. I believe that ultimately doing so will be cost effective, will save the volunteer Select Board time and effort, and will guarantee that the best candidate is found for the town administrator position.
Libby Levison
Old Shirley Road
