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05/08/2024 10:53 AMThe Town Council has begun interviewing candidates for its vacant full-time town manager position. The final candidates are expected to be in Clinton soon, and a public forum will follow.
Following the unexpected resignation of former Town Manager Karl Kilduff at the end of December, the Town Council began a search to find Kilduff’s replacement. Now, it appears the town is on the cusp of finding a new manager.
In a press release from April 19, the council announced that it had chosen who to invite to Clinton to interview in person with the council and town department heads.
Earlier in 2024, the council hired Randi Frank Consulting LLC to assist with the manager search. The press release stated that the firm had received 22 applications, which were screened for qualifications. Ten applicants were asked to complete a further questionnaire, and six candidates were chosen for screening interviews that were recorded via Zoom.
According to the release, the council met in executive session on April 17 to discuss the screening interviews and select candidates for the in-person interviews. As of press time, the names of the candidates have not been released.
In a statement, Town Council Chair Carrie Allen said that she and the council “are looking forward to meeting the finalists and determin[ing] who will be Clinton’s next town manager.”
Since January, the Town Council has held frequent executive sessions to discuss the town manager vacancy. Since what is said in executive session is privileged information between council members, Allen said there was not much more beyond the April 19 press release that she could divulge, though she expects an update to be given soon.
The council stated in the past that some sort of public engagement may be held for residents to interact with the finalists for the town manager position. In 2019, the Town hosted an open house event for the final three candidates so citizens could meet them and ask questions.
On May 1, Allen said that the Town hopes to have more information on when the meet-and-greet event will be held the week of May 6, following the conclusion of the in-person candidate interviews.
The Town Manager
Whoever is chosen to be the next town manager will be tasked with running the day-to-day operations of the town as its chief executive.
According to a job description posed earlier this year “The town manager supervises most of the town departments and their functions and programs and services. The town manager shall see that all policies set by the Town Council, along with the laws and ordinances governing the town, are faithfully executed. He or she will prepare the Town budget for the Town Council’s approval, prepare an annual report, and provide advice to the Town Council on municipal projects and the financial condition of the Town. The town manager serves as the personnel director/human resources director for the Town.”
A town manager is not an elected position; rather, they are hired by the town council, which provides direction to the manager in policy matters. The Town charter states that a town manager can only be hired or fired with the approval of at least five out of seven of the elected town council members.
The Process
In 2018, Clinton voters overwhelmingly voted to approve changes to Clinton’s town charter that called for the removal of the First Selectmen/Board of Selectmen style of government in favor of the Town Manager/Town Council form of government. In January 2020, the town hired Kilduff to be Clinton’s first-ever town manager for three years. Despite getting a second three-year contract in 2022 and a raise in November 2023, Kilduff surprised residents when he announced in late December that he had resigned and would start a new job in Weston in February. His last day in Clinton was Feb. 19.
Since then, the town has been led by Interim Town Manager Richard Brown.
Following Kilduff’s resignation, the council quickly began taking steps to find his replacement.
Interviews with community stakeholders, as well as input from citizens, were submitted to the consulting firm to develop a profile based on what the town needs and what the responders said they were looking for in a town manager. From there, a national search for candidates was launched.
Allen said that “fewer than 20” responses were received from the public.