Committee chooses – but doesn’t announce – three manager finalists

September 3, 2022 | By Lisa Scagliotti 

The search for Waterbury’s next municipal manager is down to three finalists invited for in-person interviews on Wednesday, but the committee overseeing the recruiting effort does not plan to share the names of the candidates just yet. 

“We’ve narrowed it to three finalists after the Zoom interviews,” said Skip Flanders, chair of the Board of Commissioners of the Edward Farrar Utility District. 

Three finalist candidates for Waterbury’s Municipal Manager position are scheduled for interviews on Wednesday. File photo by Lisa Scagliotti

The Municipal Manager Search Committee has two members each from the utility district board – Flanders and Natalie Sherman – along with two Select Board members, Chair Mike Bard and Vice Chair Dani Kehlmann, and Waterbury Public Library Director Rachel Muse. The committee is working with Rick McGuire, a consultant from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.

The committee received 32 applications for the position advertised earlier this summer in preparation for current Municipal Manager Bill Shepeluk’s retirement at the end of this year. Shepeluk has been in the job for 34 years.

Last month, the committee whittled down the field to seven candidates for first interviews that were done via Zoom. The first session on Aug. 12 got postponed when internet service to Waterbury was down due to a mishap with a Comcast fiber optic cable that was damaged during road work along U.S. Route 2. The interviews then were conducted on Aug. 15 and 16.

The decision on which candidate to hire will be made jointly by the Select Board and the utility district Board of Commissioners for whom the manager serves as the key town staff member.

As part of the process, the search committee last month also put out a call for community volunteers to serve on a second panel that will meet individually with each of the finalists and provide input for the hiring choice. Flanders said 11 people volunteered. Six were named to that group: Bob Butler, Beth Gilpin, Mary Koen, John Malter, Michelle Ryan and David Rye. 

Wednesday’s schedule 

Agendas for Wednesday’s meetings have been posted on the town website in the Select Board section. Both will be held at the Waterbury Public Library. 

The Search Committee Community Group will convene at 12:30 p.m. A second meeting starting at 4:25 p.m. at the library is listed as a joint meeting of the Waterbury Select Board and the EFUD Board of Commissioners. It’s not clear if the library director is involved in that meeting as well. 

Both meetings are warned as public meetings with an opportunity for public comment. Flanders said the intent, however, is for both groups to conduct the candidate interviews individually in executive session without any members of the public in attendance. The first round of interviews done via Zoom also were done in executive session. 

The second meeting has a target adjournment of 9:30 p.m. in order to allow time for the elected officials to complete interviews and then for the community member panel to join them to share their input following the interviews they conduct earlier that day. 

Also on Wednesday, Flanders said, the three finalists will get a tour of Waterbury, meet with Shepeluk, and greet other town employees. 

Flanders said the committees are referring to the candidates simply as No. 22, No. 26, and No. 32 – shorthand from the application process to keep their names confidential. The committee previously said that there were only a few women candidates overall and that all of those in the interview group were men. Flanders said the three finalists were “experienced municipal personnel” and they all are from Vermont. 

It’s not always secret

Various other hiring processes have played out recently in the region. Most familiar to local residents may be the process early this year when the Harwood Unified Union School Board conducted its search for a new superintendent to succeed Brigid Nease. That began in the fall of 2021 and used an outside recruitment firm to assist. By early January, candidates were chosen for interviews. 

When the school board narrowed the field to three finalists, those individuals were announced publicly. Although their individual interviews were in closed session with the school board, they toured schools, met students and staff, and recorded on video group conversations with a school board member, a student, a teacher, and an administrator that were posted online for community members to watch. An online form for public comments was provided as well. 

Community feedback was enthusiastic for candidate Mike Leichliter from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, whom the school board preferred as well. He was offered the job, accepted, and is now the district’s superintendent.

Likewise in Barre City, a lengthy process has played out to hire a new city manager. Nicolas Storellicastro started in the position in July after moving to Vermont from New York City with his family. 

The Times Argus reported on the final stage of the Barre hiring process which had two finalists who visited for both private interviews and public introductions in various settings.

Before he was chosen, Storellicastro visited and met with city department heads, staff, members of committees, as well as local business leaders, representatives of local nonprofit organizations, high school students, and public works staff working on an infrastructure project. He even gave a public presentation on pandemic recovery during his whirlwind interview day.

A ‘respectful balance’

When asked about the protocols the Waterbury group will follow in releasing information about the finalists, both Flanders and Kehlmann said that the search consultant guided the local officials in setting the ground rules. That includes keeping candidate identities confidential until they reach their choice. 

They said they want to be mindful of applicants who may not want current employers to know they are interviewing for a new position, especially if they aren’t offered the Waterbury job.

“At this point, that’s what we promised them. They’re expecting that,” Kehlmann explained. “We want to be respectful of people who might be looking to change jobs.”  

McGuire, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns consultant, was out of the country and not available to assist the Waterbury committee last week. In his place was league staffer Abby Friedman who will attend the finalist interview sessions this week. 

“Towns do this all kinds of ways,” Friedman said about the process. She said the law allows for local officials to keep applicant information confidential.  “It depends on how boards decide at the beginning of the process how they want to run it,” she said.

Flanders and Kehlmann said they relied on McGuire for guidance in this matter. “He led us through this,” Kehlmann said. “We’re following advice and direction Rick gave us.” 

Although the finalists names and information have not been made public, the community members serving on the second interview panel have received candidate resumes and applications ahead of Wednesday’s meetings. The panel members were asked to keep the information confidential, the officials said. 

So, will the candidates be introduced by name to town staff during their visits on Wednesday? “It’s up to them to introduce themselves as they like,” Kehlmann said. 

Freeman agrees. “I am not on those tours,” she said. “I’m sure there will be a respectful balance.” 

The committee members say they are not certain whether one finalist will be chosen at the end of Wednesday’s process. It depends on whether there is consensus, Flanders said. If there is, they could proceed with a job offer. If not, the boards may want to invite candidates back for additional interview time. Whenever they reach a choice, any offer would be subject to a background check before a contract is signed, he noted. 

And when the group reaches its choice, the candidate’s identity will be shared with the community, Flanders said.