An initial effort by the Stockton Springs Select Board to appoint an interim replacement for former Town Manager Mac Smith — who was fired on Dec. 30 — has fallen through.
The Select Board appointed Town Clerk Diane Reynolds as the interim manager during an emergency meeting at 8 a.m. Monday. But later in the morning, Reynolds told a reporter that she had declined to take the position.
Reynolds said that the responsibility would be “too much.”
Now, the Select Board plans to hold another emergency meeting Tuesday morning to consider another interim manager candidate.
If Reynolds had been appointed, she was expected to hold the temporary position for a week, at which point the Select Board aimed to hire a longer term interim manager who could serve until a permanent replacement was found. Without an interim manager, the town will be temporarily unable to perform some duties, such as paying bills or accepting money, according to Reynolds.
Approximately 30 residents attended the meeting, including several who spoke out against the process used to fire Smith, whose final day was late last week.
Select Board members did not offer any more explanation for Smith’s termination. They voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Reynolds, who has been the town clerk since early last fall.
“I’m not interested in this position long-term whatsoever,” Reynolds said after the meeting — but before saying that she had declined the role.
The town had been planning to put out an advertisement for the long-term interim manager by the end of the week.
“We need somebody who can manage the budget, who can manage the town, who can handle people’s questions, and who can work with the [town] staff,” Select Board member Betsy Bradley said of the qualifications the candidate should have.
Right now, one potential candidate has spoken to the board, said Bradley.
During the meeting, several residents questioned the reasons for Smith’s firing and how it was handled, with some expressing frustration that little information has been shared about it.
“We can only share so much information,” Bradley told attendees. “We have met in executive session. We don’t know what we’re going to need to discuss. It’s nothing secret.”
In response to a question from resident Chuck Seamer about why Smith wasn’t allowed to finish out his contract, Bradley said that officials felt “like we needed to go in a different direction now.”
