HADLEY — A new town administrator for Hadley may not start until late summer as town officials look to attract more candidates to the position.
The Select Board Wednesday voted unanimously to push back the deadline for applications from May 11 to June 1, at the recommendation of the search company hired by the town in February.
“That would potentially attract more applicants,” said Town Administrator David Nixon said, who plans to retire at the end of this year.
Nixon told the board that Municipal Resources Inc. of Meredith, New Hampshire wants to get a larger number of resumes.
As of this week, there were 21 resumes submitted, while the company would prefer to have between 30 and 40.
While bringing a new person on board in late August or early September would mean less time for transition than a July 1 start date, it would have cost reductions of between $10,000 and $15,000, an important consideration as town officials expect to have to make significant cuts to the fiscal year 2021 budget. The budget could be presented to annual Town Meeting, scheduled to be held June 18.
Board member Christian Stanley said a delay in the process makes sense, observing that a lot of people who might apply could be preoccupied with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though board member Molly Keegan supported moving the deadline, she still suggested having the new hire on the job in a timely fashion to work alongside Nixon, who has been in the position since 2005.
“I still think we should try to get someone on board as soon as we can,’ Keegan said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
