Good news to report. On July 22, the Selectboard voted unanimously to adopt a written set of 2026 Town Manager goals and performance objectives.
The Town Manager’s employment agreement requires annual goals to be set in September, collaboratively and reduced to writing. Last year that didn’t happen. Since Town Meeting, Chair Kimo Griggs has kept coming back to the topic. The public conversations among members and with the Town Manager have not always been easy. So, it’s worth noting that this meeting discussion was not full of tension, took a mere seventeen minutes and ended with a 5–0 vote.
Credit where it’s due: the document was drafted by Selectboard member Matt Swett, who synthesized goals and evaluation language submitted by several members and the Town Manager. Points of contention were smoothed. It’s a good start for a crucial management tool the Board didn’t use last year. See my previous posts, here, here, and here.
What’s in it
The goals and objectives are not in a single list but folded into an evaluation form in the July 22, 2026 Selectboard meeting packet beginning at page 19. Come evaluation time, each Selectboard member will evaluate the Town Manager on each objective on the following scale: Outstanding, Exceeds Expectation, Meets Expectation, Needs Improvement, or Unsatisfactory.
Here are a few of the POs (performance objectives):
- Maintain a fulfilling work environment, focused on retention and attraction of qualified employees.
- Address deferred maintenance in and around Tracy Hall.
- Begin a planning process for improvements at the DPW facility.
- Provide actionable recommendations to improve energy efficiency.
- Present a capital spending plan to the Selectboard.
The last two items were new, noted Mr. Swett. The energy efficiency objective, referred to as the “green initiative,” picks up on advisory Article 36 passed by voters a number of years ago to reduce fossil fuel use. The PO, #2G, says: “This could include recommendations for electric mowing and grounds maintenance equipment, grants for charging stations at the Public Safety Building and the DPW garage, purchasing options for electric or hybrid vehicles for the town’s fleet of pick-ups and command vehicles, and installation of solar panels on town buildings.”
The capital plan, a topic near and dear to me as noted here in March and here in 2020, is required by the Town’s Master Financial Policy. At the meeting, Mr. Swett said it should include an updated spreadsheet “showing all the planned reserve fund appropriations for the next 5 to 10 years, capital replacement plans for vehicles and equipment for all appropriate departments, and all available plans for infrastructure maintenance and replacement.” To that I say: huzzah.
What’s not in it
Communications and the Town website. Mr. Swett said he left them out deliberately, too large a subject to fold into an evaluation window closing in late September. Fair enough. I would note that community relations are also part of the Town Manager’s job, at least to me. Communication does appear in the document — with town and governmental entities, inside an objective about disasters and legal issues, and with the Selectboard, staff, and committees in the form’s leadership category. But nothing specific about communications with residents.
As for the website, everyone agrees it’s overdue for a refresh.
Selectboard members mentioned several deferred items for inclusion the next time: how department heads are evaluated, how the finance committee fits into the budget process, and how to structure the conversation about using a budget surplus.
I would also add the reporting requirements in Article 36 and storm and flood resiliency.
Member Swett suggested starting the next round of discussions about goals in late August, and floated setting aside fifteen or twenty minutes at each meeting, rather than doing it all at once.
One more small ask: post them. Adopted goals belong on the Town website where residents can find them.
Note: The draft meeting minutes do not mention the adoption of the goals. But a motion (Layton), second (Gere) and vote (unanimous) occurred, starting at around 2:39:24 of the YouTube recording of the meeting.
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