For the second time in the past 7 months, Stockton Springs is looking to hire a long-term town manager.
The town’s select board started the process of scheduling candidate interviews this week after Town Manager Sadie Lloyd Mudge, who started the job in June, announced her resignation in October. Stockton Springs has had five town managers, including interim appointments, in the last six years.
“It’s not any dramatic situation, it’s just where things land,” Lloyd Mudge said Tuesday, adding that she simply found that the role wasn’t a good fit for her.
That’s not uncommon for new town managers today, she said, particularly those working in small communities.
Lloyd Mudge attributed that partly to increasing negativity and divisiveness in the larger world that trickle down to municipal staff. Other municipalities across the state with town managers have seen frequent, sometimes contentious turnover in recent years.
“I think it is a somewhat difficult time to be a manager, especially for small towns,” Lloyd Mudge said.
Select board member Marsha Shute didn’t return a request for comment Tuesday.
Previously Belfast’s city planner, Lloyd Mudge replaced two interim town managers who had filled the job for about six months following the select board’s firing of Mac Smith last December after three years. He initially served as an interim manager and was hired full-time after the board dismissed Jennifer King without cause in 2021, according to meeting minutes.
The board did not publicly give a reason for Smith’s firing a year ago.
“I really care about small Maine towns, having roots here,” Lloyd Mudge said when the board appointed her in May. “I think Stockton Springs has a lot of energy and heart and potential, and those are the best places to work.”
The board reviewed candidates to replace her on Monday night, and has found several to interview, according to Lloyd Mudge. She currently expects to stay in the role through the end of January.
“The Select Board would like to see a candidate who can foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and respect among town departments and exhibit sound judgment, professionalism, and forward-thinking leadership,” according to the job description.
Despite turnover in the manager role, Lloyd Mudge said day-to-day operations have been consistent for the public because of long-term staff in the town office.
The community also seems to be more settled since she started in June, she said, when residents were dealing with contentious public issues such as a proposed moratorium on commercial solar projects. A committee is now working on an ordinance governing those projects.
For now, Lloyd Mudge is still focused on town affairs and working on creating a smooth transition for a replacement who could stay for the long term.
“I believe when I wrap things up…I am leaving things for the next person in a very good place, and that’s important to me,” she said.
Lloyd Mudge declined to disclose salary information about how much her successor might be paid.
