Northborough receives 27 candidates for town administrator

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Northborough receives 27 candidates for town administrator
This sign in Town Hall marks the office of the Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator. (Photo/Laura Hayes)

NORTHBOROUGH – The search is underway for the next Northborough town administrator. 

Select Board Chair Mitch Cohen is the board’s representative on the screening committee. During the board’s May 22 meeting, he said the committee has had “a couple” of meetings so far.

“We received some good information from [consulting firm Municipal Resources, Inc.’s Bob Mercier and Buzz Stapczynski] that we’ve received 27 candidates by the response date of May 8,” said Cohen.

According to Cohen, 17 of the candidates are from Massachusetts.

“It’s not uncommon to receive candidates from other states,” he said. “They may have Massachusetts experience or maybe they grew up here.”

As of the Select Board meeting, the screening committee had not seen the names of the candidates. 

As far as the process moving forward, Cohen said the consultants have recommended that the committee asks the candidates essay questions. The committee has finalized a set of three questions, which Cohen said particularly pertain to Northborough issues. 

The questions are with the candidates and are due in the near future. Then, the screening committee will meet in executive session to review the answers to the essay questions and determine “six or so” candidates to interview.  

These candidates will be interviewed in mid- to late June. The screening committee will then select approximately three candidates to move forward to the Select Board for final interviews. 

Once that step occurs and the final candidates are named, the names will be public, said Cohen.

“That’s just required under the Open Meeting Law because many of those candidates probably have existing jobs, and their employers might not know they’re looking,” he said.

Final interviews before the Select Board may take place in the first to second week of July. How soon a new town administrator may start depends on how much notice they need to give their employer, said Cohen.

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