The Hudson Budget Committee met on Aug. 7 with a report on the town’s hiring process for a permanent Town Planner, a process that has stalled over the past few months.
“There has been little to no movement on that hiring process,” said Selectmen Liaison, Heidi Jakoby. “It’s been a very long time and there seems to be some difficulty findings candidates. I would like the Board of Selectmen to take a better look at that hiring process.”
Budget Chair, Bill Cole, expressed his concern over the length of the hiring process.
“We’ve been doing this what, six or seventh months now?” Cole asked. “What do you think, as a member of the Board, the problem is to get the process moving?”
He also wanted to know why the Nashua Regional Planning Commission was not helping out.
It was not immediately clear why the NRPC did not have more involvement. Interim Town Planner, Jay Minkarah, is the Executive Director of the Commission as such the Town of Hudson pays an hourly rate to the NRPC for his services. Jakoby suggested using a recruiting firm or another form of outside assistance to help Hudson fill the spot, noting that the Town Planner is not the only vacancy they needed to fill. The Town Administrator position is also vacant, although the Board of Selectmen was already working with an agency to find someone interested in working for Hudson.
“They have a number of candidates which they are doing telephone interviews with as we speak, and they should have the top candidates that they’re recommending to us by next week for us to then interview,” said Jakoby. “We hope to have interviews as soon as the next couple of weeks if that’s at all possible.”
Despite skepticism over the long wait, Jakoby said she was “optimistic” that the role of Town Administrator would be filled “before the end of September.”
Town Assessor, James Michaud, was picked to serve as Interim Town Administrator for the time being. The search for an Assistant Town Administrator has been suspended until the role of Town Administrator is filled.
There was a question regarding the cost of having people covering open positions on an interim basis.
“Typically, when we put somebody temporarily in a position, we’ll pay them the salary of that position for a period of time. Is that what we’re doing for the interim?” asked Committee member, Rich Weissgarber.
He was informed that Michaud would receive a 15% increase in his current salary as Assessor while serving as Interim Town Administrator rather than receiving a full second salary.
The Budget Committee is scheduled to meet again at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4, in the Buxton Room of Town Hall.
