By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — The Town Council last night continued to discuss the process that will lead to a new Town Administrator to replace Stephen P. Maio, who has announced that he will retire in July.
Maio reported that, per the Town Council’s instructions, he reached out to executive search firms to help with recruitment of candidates, and three firms have expressed interest. Two of them have submitted proposals and are expected to be interviewed by the Town Council at their first meeting in April.
The bulk of the discussion last night pertained to the size and composition of a local screening committee. In response to a question, Town Counsel Thomas Mullen noted that the Town
Charter requires there to be some kind of screening committee to select finalists for a new Town Administrator, but the Charter does not specify the size or composition of such a committee.
Town Councilor Edward Dombroski said that the screening committee should be made up of local citizens, not Town Councilors. The Town Council will make the final selection from the candidates recommended by the screening committee but should have limited involvement until that time, he said.
Councilor Jonathan Chines agreed that no Town Councilors should sit on the screening committee, but he recommended that some of the town administrator’s peers, such as the School
Superintendent or Town Counsel, should be considered for the screening committee. Chines thought that a seven to nine-member screening committee would be ideal.
Town Councilor John Carney reminded the board that the last time a Town Administrator was hired, each member of the Board of Selectmen chose one member of the screening committee. That process resulted in the hiring of Maio.
Councilor Douglas Butler disagreed with the notion that Town Councilors should not serve on the search committee, calling it “an abdication” for Councilors not to be involved.
“No other organization would go to its customers to ask who should be its CEO,” he said. He said that the search committee should include people who work with the Town Administrator such as town employees or department heads.
Councilor Robert Vincent favored a screening committee composed of local residents, pointing out that citizens are part of local government serving as the town’s legislative branch at open Town Meeting.
Dombroski pointed out that the executive search firm would provide a kind of pre-screening process by helping to identify candidates for the screening committee to consider.
Councilor Mehreen Butt suggested that Town Councilors email Maio with their suggestions about the size and composition of the screening committee. The search firms could then be asked for their opinions regarding a screening committee when they are interviewed at the April Town Council meeting.
Carney brought up the fact that the Town Election is just a few weeks away and there will be two new Town Councilors after April 22. He recommended waiting until after the election to form a screening committee.
But Dombroski noted that, assuming the Town Council settles on what the screening committee will look like at its first April meeting, it will then have to advertise for volunteers to serve, pushing any decision on membership until after the Town Election.
“We have to give people a chance to apply,” he said, “so it’s unlikely that this Town Council would select the screening committee.”