Adams Board OKs Salary Range for Town Administrator Ad
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ADAMS, Mass. — The Select Board on Wednesday agreed to a salary range of $125,000 to $150,000 for a new town administrator.
Interim Town Administrator Kenneth Walto said the range was suggested by Richard White of Groux-White Consulting LLC, hired in May to assist the town in its search.
White wants to get the advertisement out and needed the board's approval.
"I say my recommendation is up to $150,000, depending on qualifications and experience," Walto said when asked.
Selectmen Joseph Nowak asked if the town had that much money, noting the post had been budgeted for $125,000. Walto said a new administrator likely wouldn't be brought on until fall so there shouldn't be a problem.
"I don't know that's a lot of money," Nowak said. "I mean, I'm an older person, and boy, when I see these salaries that are going on in this community, it It blows my mind."
Selectwoman Ann Bartlett said when White had spoken to them over Zoom, he was saying, "how we have to compete with all these other communities and what they're offering, that we might not have great representation to choose from which we don't know yet."
He thought the beauty of the region and its suitability for raising families should be attractive to candidates.
Walto said assistant town administrators are making $150,000 in the eastern part of the state and "if you want to attract them to come out here, you've got to get in the ballpark."
Selectman Jay Meczywor said he'd heard the same at a conference for new select board members he'd attended in Deven. He'd asked around and people were surprised when he brought up a $125,000 salary.
"I think we have to make ourselves marketable, because we are a small fish in big pond," he said.
Walto pointed out that Great Barrington had been offering up to $160,000 and had attracted a small pool, and will now have to resume its search.
Board members were also asked to provide nominations for the search committee, which will review resumes and do interviews. They have already nominated members for a community stakeholders group that will also hold interviews.
Nowak said he was still concerned about the town's spending, raising the issue of the $175,000 appropriated at town meeting and bills that have yet to be paid for this fiscal year. Walto explained that the $175,000 was raised for the reserve fund as usual and that funds had been encumbered in fiscal 2025 to pay outstanding invoices in July.
Walto, longtime Dalton town manager, was brought on part time earlier this year until the town could find a replacement for Jay Green, who took the post of Lenox town manager.
In other business:
• The board, acting as the licensing authority, approved two one-day licenses: for the Bounti-Fare to serve at Adams Theater on July 12 from 5 to 10:30 p.m. and for the American Legion to serve at a private event on Aug. 30 on Bucklin Road beginning at 2. The second license had been tabled from the last meeting over liability concerns. The board was assured that the insurance was carried by the applicant and would be provided the confirmation.
• A proposal to appoint David Rhinemiller as code enforcement officer was continued again to await an opinion from town counsel. Rhinemiller is a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and of the Board of Health, to which the code enforcement officer reports.
Walto said he had sought out the town's labor counsel, who found the documents prepared for the state Ethics Commission "weren't quite right." He recommended Walto carefully reviewing the documents and to the town's general counsel, KP Law. The board asked that he get an opinion from KP Law for the next meeting.
• The board also heard an Americans with Disabilities report on the town by Andrew McKeever of Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.
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