Prospective managers to interview

DIXFIELD- The board of selectmen met last week to review the packets of resumes for prospective town managers that were delivered before Thanksgiving from Maine Municipal Association.

According to Chairman of the Board, Macky Gill, selectmen took time on their own to review their individual packets and then came together in executive session to share their thoughts on the top candidates.

“We were all in the same ballpark when it came down to it,” noted Chairman Gill. “We all agreed on which direction we should be taking and were able to narrow it down to a top eight from quite a list of applicants.”

Selectmen cut the eight down to six and set them in two groups of three. Chairman Gill would not specify what the guidelines for those two groups were, but did note, “We’re looking at making sure the candidates have a good amount of experience in town management, a strong financial background and we would prefer the person to have experience with road construction in order to oversee the road commissioner position.”

Selectmen will be meeting this week with candidates for face-to-face interviews and will plan, from the outcome, second interviews.

“They all looked good on paper,” stated Chairman Gill. “But, now we really need to see how they perform in person.”

Chairman Gill stated of the candidates, four of whom are residents of Maine and two who are from out of state, “They are a good mixture of what we’re looking for. We’ll be able to narrow the race down even more following the first round of interviews. We would like to see the position filled by the first of the year, but only time will tell. That would be the best case scenario.”