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Amherst Town Manager Larry Shaffer plans to retire at the end of September.

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KEVIN GUTTING

Amherst Town Manager Larry Shaffer admires a temporary mohawk provided by Matt Haskins of Matt’s Barber Shop partway through a haircut at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation head-shaving event for childhood cancer research held outside of Rafter’s in Amherst in March. Shaffer plans to retire at the end of September.

AMHERST - Town Manager Larry Shaffer, who came to Amherst in 2006, will step down at the end of September.

Shaffer announced at Monday's Select Board meeting that he anticipated leaving his post before his contract expires at the end of June 2013. As soon as he made the announcement, the board voted unanimously to enter an executive session to speak with him and discuss the status of his contract. After 85 minutes in executive session, board decided to accept Shaffer's retirement effective Sept. 30 and agreed he would receive the equivalent of four months pay on that date, according to Chairwoman Stephanie O'Keeffe.

Shaffer said he has worked for 34 years straight.

"I really appreciate being given the opportunity to serve the people, the citizens of this community," Shaffer said.

Shaffer came to Amherst after serving as town administrator in Vernon, Conn., for seven years. He replaced longtime town manager Barry Del Castilho in Amherst. Shaffer previously worked in municipal government in Oneonta, N.Y., Keene, N.H., and Durham, N.H.

He said his younger brother, a fire chief in upstate New York, came to him three years ago and told him he was thinking about retiring. Shaffer's advice to his sibling then was that once one starts thinking about retirement, one should retire.

"In a week's time I'll be 62 years old and indeed I have been thinking of retirement," Shaffer said.

His contract, originally signed March 18, 2006, was extended for two more years last September. He earns $127,528 annually.

During his tenure, Shaffer has promoted economic development, pushing for projects that have included a professional research park in North Amherst and the Gateway Redevelopment Project on North Pleasant Street north of downtown. Over the past year, Shaffer has been working on preserving the town's train station. But he has also found himself at the center of controversies, among which was a decision to withhold a permit from the organizers of the Fourth of July parade and to no longer allow the Boy Scouts to sell Christmas trees at Kendrick Park.

His announcement came after the home he owned on Amity Street was listed among the real estate transactions in Monday's Gazette.

The announcement also altered the board's agenda, in which Shaffer's performance evaluation for fiscal year 2010 and performance goals for fiscal 2011 were scheduled to be discussed.

Among draft goals the board was considering was having Shaffer continue to confront the ongoing revenue crisis, strengthen the relationships with the University of Massachusetts and other local colleges, and gather information about the strengths and weaknesses of the delivery of various municipal services.