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05/10/2024 11:47 AMThe Town Council is hosting a public meet-and-greet with the two finalists for the next Town Manager on Thursday, May 16, at 6 p.m. in the Green Room at Town Hall. The names of the finalists have not been released yet.
On May 8, a post on the town website announced that following interviews with town department heads and the Town Council on May 3, the town has invited two finalists to be further interviewed for the vacant position.
However, before they interview again, the public is invited to get to know the candidates. Town Council Chairperson Carrie Allen told the Harbor News that the candidates could not have their names released at press time as other people who applied for the position were being informed of their application status.
Allen said the event on May 16 will last about an hour, and attendees will have the chance to speak with and ask questions of the finalists.
“The event will be an informal one held in the Green Room where both candidates will be available to answer questions in a conversational setting,” Allen said.
The post states that the two candidates will be interviewed by the council a week after the meet-and-greet.
Since former Town Manager Karl Kilduff announced in December 2023 that he would resign, the council has taken steps to address the vacancy.
Early in 2024, the council hired Randi Frank Consulting LLC to assist with the manager search. An earlier 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.
The Town Manager
Since Kilduff’s official last day in February, the town has been led by Interim Town Manager Richard Brown. Brown announced when he took the job that he would not be considered for the full-time manager position.
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 directs 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
In 2018, Clinton voters overwhelmingly approved changes to the town charter that removed the First Selectmen/Board of Selectmen style of government and replaced it with 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.