Gill to represent board in town manager search

DIXFIELD- Selectmen voted unanimously at Monday night’s meeting to appoint chairman Macky Gill to meet with Maine Municipal Association and authorized him to expend the $4,900 to secure MMA’s assistance in selecting candidates to replace Gene Skibitsky.

“I ask that we as selectmen outline what we want in a town manager,” noted Chairman Gill. “My feeling is that we want someone with a strong financial background.”

Selectman Scott Belskis noted, “It’s preferable to have someone who has it all. We really need to list out everything Gene does and go from there.”

The fee that MMA requires will cover the cost of their nine-step program in order to replace current town manager Gene Skibitsky, who informed selectmen in September that he would be resigning as of the first of the year.

In a recent letter to the editor, former selectman, Norine Clarke, expressed her concerns in regards to the rumor that the town was going to hire an administrative assistant instead of a town manager, and to not replace the deputy treasurer.

“This would be a great step backward,” noted Clarke. “Under our current town manager we have seen many improvements in the way Dixfield does business.”

Clarke cited an extensive list of the work that has been done while Skibitsky has held office, including town policies being brought current, and morale among employees being at an all time high.

Clarke stated, “Dixfield needs the services of a town manager and I’d like the current one to stay on the job.”

Chairman Gill will be scheduling an appointment to meet with MMA in the coming weeks to discuss the procedure of hiring a new manager.