SALEM — As the search for a new town manager gets into full swing, the selectmen are looking for people who would like to quiz candidates for the job.
"It's a great way to leave their handprint on what town government is going to be like the next several years," selectmen's Chairman Michael Lyons said.
Municipal Resources Inc., a firm the selectmen contracted to help narrow their search, is setting up a citizens panel to interview six semifinal candidates in early November.
Each semifinal candidate also will be interviewed by a panel of municipal employees and another panel of municipal managers. Based on the input from each panel, MRI will select the finalists who will advance to interviews with the selectmen.
Residents have not typically been part of the hiring process in Salem. When selectmen hired Jon Sistare in 2007, the field of candidates was narrowed by a panel of department chiefs and interim Town Manager Henry LaBranche, who was town manager at the time. They brought the selectmen four finalists.
"That process served us well in getting us a nice mix (of candidates)," Lyons said. "I think this process will serve us just as well or better."
In 2007, the field was narrowed down from 41 candidates to Sistare; Pelham Town Administrator Thomas Gaydos; William Ross, a deputy federal security director at the Philadelphia airport; and Salem Community Development Director William Scott.
This time around, Lyons said letting MRI handle the early vetting of candidates had freed up the board to concentrate on other major responsibilities — like filling the vacancy left by longtime Selectman Arthur Barnes and putting together the town budget.
Lyons said the budget should be passed on to the Budget Committee by the time the selectmen are ready to interview candidates.
"We're kind of doing our thing, and MRI is doing theirs," Lyons said. "It should work out."
For the citizens panel, the firm is going to choose about 10 resident volunteers to help assess personal characteristics, attributes and style that will help determine how a candidate might work with and be viewed by people in town.
The idea, according to MRI, is to help the company see how a particular candidate might be received by the wider community.
To apply for a spot on the citizens panel, residents should submit their names, contact information, and a brief profile touching on work and life experiences, civic and social service activities, current and past community involvement, and any other relevant information to all@municipalresources.com. Volunteers must be available all day on Nov. 4 for interviews of the six candidates.
MRI will select panelists based on the number of volunteers, and the desire to make the panel a balanced, representative cross-section of the town.
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