Clarksburg Declines to Renew Town Administrator Contract; Posts Position
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday voted to post the town administrator position in hopes of having a new leader in place by early next year.
The board had entered in executive session with Carl McKinney last week for negotiations on a three-year contract. That apparently turned into an offer for a one-year extension that McKinney refused. He was not at Monday's meeting.
Department heads and members of other boards and committee attended the meeting with concerns of how the negotiation had played out — and how the town would move forward with the grants and projects underway.
A nearly $10,000 increase had been on the table, funding that was approved in the fiscal 2025 budget in anticipation of contract talks. But bringing the administrator's salary to $75,000 led the newer members of the board to consider spreading the net wider.
"We thought the increase from the existing salary to what was being proposed would open up opportunities and increase the pool of applicants that weren't necessarily, I think, interested parties before during previous searches," said Colton Andrews. "That was kind of the thought and theory that if we do raise the salary level, that at that point, we would host it to see if we can get some qualified applicants."
The vote not to renew McKinney's three-year contract was 2-1, with Chair Robert Norcross opposed. Norcross said he had not been prepared for the vote to go that way and neither had McKinney.
"We did tell Carl that he can apply for it, but I understand that he told me later that he was kind of blindsided by it, which I know he was, and I think he just was upset, which I don't blame him," he said.
McKinney, who grew up in Clarksburg and served on the Finance Committee and Select Board, was hired in 2014 after the town spent months trying to function without an administrative leader. It took an election and board turnover for a majority of the three-person board to offer McKinney the post that July.
He resigned in 2019, saying the Select Board at that time had would not "abide by the duly negotiated terms and conditions of my contract." Two years later, with the town offices left in disarray from his replacement, McKinney was rehired to straighten out the mess.
During his tenure, he'd brought in MassWorks and Green Communities grants, championed a debt exclusion loan address critical infrastructure issues, dealt with the aftermath of several severe storms and seen the town fully staffed and its finances repaired. As a member of the Briggsville Water District, he's also been a critical link in the relationship with the town and the private entity in pursuing grants and repairs.
"The good thing with Carl that I see is he's very dedicated. He knows the history of the town. He lives here. He works for a reasonable price," said Norcross. "I've had a pretty good relationship with him, and that's why I voted not to discontinue his contract."
Andrews and member Dan Haskins agreed that McKinney was dedicated to the town and hard working. But, they had some reservations, with Haskins saying he had some frustrations with inaccurate information and Andrews that the town needed a more professional and aggressive leader.
"My outlook on this entire process was the town needs a representative that can go to the state, go to our elected officials, have a professional relationship that's beneficial for the town, not only for grants funding, etc., and is well respected," Andrews said. "I feel strongly it's in the town's best interest to move forward, move to the future. Find an active and eager town administrator willing to pursue some areas. I don't think they were pursued aggressively before, and I think now's the time to make that change."
Haskins said McKinney was offered the one-year contract but rejected it. He was told he could apply again for his position, but Andrews said his stance had not changed since last week.
Charles "Chuck" Lewitt, chair of the Finance Committee, said McKinney had walked the new committee through the budget process early this year and had been very helpful in educating them.
"We have a very good staff here at the Town Hall now, but there's not a lot of experience here. And I'm just worried without ... with not a lot of experience at Town Hall, what would happen?" he asked.
Norcross said some things would inevitably fall on him as chair.
Conservation Commission Chair Clebe Scott asked if the officials had an evaluation system or did they "bushwhack" their employees.
"I don't want to see this start happening to other employees throughout our little town here," he said. "When you come on to people like that, just out of the blue, you know, I hate to say it's not fair, but there are laws that need to be followed in a lot of cases, and I don't want to see the town get in trouble."
Norcross admitted they had no formal evaluation for employees but had spoken with McKinney about a couple things like improving communications last year.
"I think he was a little surprised, because if nobody says anything, you assume you're doing a great job," he said. "I just said, these are things I think you can improve on. These are things I think you're doing good on."
They said McKinney's last day is Dec. 27 and voted to post the position immediately with a projected salary of $70,000 to $75,000 and an increase in hours from 32 to 35.
"I think time is of the essence. Wishful thinking, I think kind of aspirational in this regard, we post this, it's listed, hopefully we can have a fairly accelerated response to any applicants," said Andrews. "If we can make the decision sooner rather than later to hopefully facilitate a smooth transfer of administration."
In other business, the board approved a tax exemption for a veteran's widow and tabled the tax classification hearing into December. Members also delayed the appointment of an animal control officer until they received more information.
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