WESTHAMPTON — Town Coordinator Doug Finn is leaving his role organizing operations in Westhampton after nearly four years for a position with the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources (DOER).
“It’s been very much rewarding,” Finn said about his time in Westhampton. “I’ve learned a lot and I’ve met some great people. It’s proven again to me that small town is the best kind of government because everything is immediate, it’s all built on relationships and it’s as transparent as you can make it.”
After his last day with the town on Friday, Finn will begin his new job as the western Massachusetts regional coordinator of the DOER’s Clean Energy Siting & Permitting Division. At a recent Select Board meeting, members thanked Finn for his service to Westhampton and touted the “institutional knowledge” he brought to the role.
“I’m happy for Doug,” Select Board Chair Susan Bronstein said in an interview. “I think it’s a great opportunity for him. I’m sad for us because he’s done such a great job.”
Finn, who also serves on the Hatfield Planning Board where he lives, said he will be helping cities and towns in the area develop energy resources, which is tasked to develop regulations to guide local siting and permitting for smaller clean energy projects.
Westhampton has been very successful completing renewable energy projects in the recent past, Finn said, which will bring significant savings in the future. He said the cost to build renewable energy sources is high, but the long-term reward is worth the initial price.
“We’ve been very successful, and the town has very much adopted solar because financially it’s a great option,” Finn said.
Finn said Massachusetts has set “aggressive” energy goals to meet by the year 2050, which hopes to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by then through The Clean Energy and Climate Plan. In order for that to happen, Finn said projects need to be done at the local level.
“Towns and cities are going to be under a lot of pressure to develop energy resources like solar, wind and battery storage,” Finn said.
Finn said there is a concern, especially in smaller towns, surrounding the development of energy resources like solar and battery energy storage systems. It will be his job to help communities understand state regulations that are meant to safely guide renewable energy project production.
“My job is going to be to help towns and cities understand what the regulations are, not what the rumors are, what the guidance is and what the state can offer in terms of what it (the community) can do to work within those regulations to protect their resources,” Finn said.
Town to transition to administrator
In the midst of Finn’s departure, the town will transition the coordinator position to an administrator, reducing the new position’s hours from 40 to 32 a week. The new role will serve as the chief operating and administrative officer and Finn said the change is aimed to help provide better support to Westhampton within current budget constraints.
“The new position is purely an operational decision and is intended to provide greater capacity to the central position in town,” Finn said.
Bronstein said a committee will be formed and charged to hire a new administrator, with interviews happening in the coming weeks.
At the same time, the town has hired a new city clerk, Daniel Gilbert of Easthampton, after former clerk, Kayla Diggins, resigned earlier this year. The 12- to 16 hour-a-week clerk’s position will gain several new responsibilities and will be expected to work more closely with the new administrator role than it previously had, Bronstein said.
“In his (Finn’s) leaving, we sort of redid the job description for that (town coordinator) because we can’t guarantee Doug’s talents,” Bronstein said. “With both Doug and the town clerk leaving, we looked at both of those together and there’s a little more collaboration there now.”
