The employment agreement between the Town of Norwich and Town Manager Herb Durfee expires at the end of August. What are the Selectboard’s plans? Unknown.
I made two attempts to contact Selectboard Chair Roger Arnold by email on this topic on June 7 and on June 10. No response. Here is what I asked in part:
I understand Herb’s employment agreement with the Town expires at the end of August. Hoping you might share something about the process going forward. Does Herb want to continue as TM for Norwich? Has the SB made any decisions? What do you see as a likely timeline for a decision? Will public input be solicited?
I don’t see my questions as concerning state secrets. What happened to openness? Transparency? The courtesy of a reply?
I asked Town Manager Durfee by email whether he wants to continue in that position. “Absolutely, yes,” was his reply. “I would hope the community as a whole would want me continuing in the position.”
Mr. Durfee has served as the Norwich Town Manager since May 2017. His current contract was signed in March 2020, amid controversy. Selectboard members Brochu, Langhus and Pepper were originally against renewal. Chair Pepper changed his vote at a February 2020 meeting marked by emotion and tension. Only Ms. Brochu is still on the Selectboard.
The current contract contains a detailed Performance Improvement Plan. At the June 9, 2021 Selectboard meeting, the Board spent about 1.5 hours in executive session discussing that plan, according to draft meeting minutes. On May 12, about 45 minutes of executive session time was spent on the topic, say the draft meeting minutes.
I find this selectboard a puzzle. During the public comment section of a recent meeting, Roger Arnold made it clear to me that that was NOT the time for me to ask questions. I wonder when that time is. There are no responses to letters I write.
I asked Roger specifically for citation to a remark he made, and he told me he would get that to me. It has been at least two weeks and I have not heard a word back. I asked again in a recent letter, so we will see if I get any response.
Amy, Sadly I hear the same complaints from others. Seems rude. To be fair, the current workload of the Selectboard strikes me as overwhelming, especially for volunteers. However, I respectfully think that the Board has bitten off more than it can chew. Perhaps, it could consider cutting back its agenda, hiring more staff, or meeting more often.
It is time for the town to terminate the Town Manager position and replace it with a Town Administrator. Vermont’s town manager statute permits a town manager essentially carte blanche once appointed. Despite the language saying that a town manager can be terminated “for cause”, cause must be thoroughly and unambiguously set forth in the contract between the town and town manager, according to the VT Supreme Court. Apparently things that would get most people fired from their jobs are not considered adequate cause to terminate a town manager. A town manager is not answerable to the Towns people, and a selectboard has little to no leverage over a town manager once he is appointed. It is time to eliminate this form of authoritarian government. A town manager is a more flexible and accountable position, answerable to the people of the town and directly answerable to the selectboard.