Why We Need a Town Administrator

Hi Neighbors,

I wanted to take a moment to explain why Middlesex needs a Town Administrator and some duties they will be expected to perform for you. As I mentioned in my post about volunteers, there are many things Sarah used to handle which are no longer being done because of lack of time and expertise. We need someone to be up to speed on the things this town is legally responsible for doing and the expectations of a municipality or we risk expensive legal action with only a volunteer to deal with it. Lawyer fees later will cost us far more than doing things right the first time.

Furthermore, Middlesex is currently missing out on multiple grants which would help us pay for the things this town needs without hitting your taxes to pay for them. If the Town Administrator could win three 30k grants a year, the position is paid for, their insurance is paid for and there would be additional excess of the money we won from only 3 grants. Hopefully this person can find even more than that, with every penny saving you from having to pay for necessary Town improvements with your taxes.

I have done my best to pick up on the awesome communication Sarah used to give us. Writing these posts are time consuming, but we need more information not less. When we are informed, there is less of a chance for misinformation being spread through idol gossip. People don't tend to read the minutes of committees or watch the ORCA videos of our select board meetings on YouTube. In the 21st century we all wish to be fed information, not to look for it. The Town Administrator could do a weekly post informing everyone of what the various committees are doing to work towards the embitterment of this town.

There are many other duties that this employee can and will take on, but I think those three: Municipal expertise, Grant finding and writing, and town wide communication are enough to warrant the position. Relying on volunteers is an unreasonable and unsustainable expectation.

Lastly for those who are already spreading misinformation about this role – yes, I did offer to take 25K+ LESS than I normally make to potentially do this job as I have been the one doing communication, grant finding and writing. (with a great deal of help from CVRPC and Sandy Levine from our own Planning Commission). However, I may not be available by the time July rolls around and frankly, I would rather we found someone with more municipal expertise than I have gleaned in my 2.5 years of volunteering for Middlesex. I am not, as it has been suggested, "making a position for myself." I don't need it, nor the negativity of folks who are uninformed of the facts.

I truly hope this person can bring a fresh perspective and a dose of positivity Middlesex both needs and deserves.

For all those reasons and more, I will be voting to move forward in adding this position which is desperately needed for the embitterment of Middlesex and all of us who live here.