§ 143-502. Town Manager

(a) Appointment. The Selectboard shall appoint a Town Manager.

(b) Qualifications. The Town Manager shall be selected with special reference to his or her education, training, and experience to perform the duties of the office, and without reference to his or her political beliefs.

(c) Authority of Selectboard. In all matters, the Town Manager shall be subject to the direction and supervision of the Selectboard. He or she shall at all times be an at-will employee and shall serve at the pleasure of the Selectboard unless otherwise provided in an employment agreement between the Town and the Town Manager.

(d) Residency. The Town Manager need not be a resident of the Town.

(e) Method of appointment; conditions of employment; compensation.

(1) The conditions of employment and compensation of the Town Manager shall be determined by the Selectboard at the time of appointment and annually thereafter on the anniversary date of the appointment.

(2) The Selectboard may consider the appointment, conditions of employment, compensation, discipline, and removal of the Town Manager and any acting Town Manager in executive session, provided that no formal or binding action shall be taken in executive session. Persons in attendance shall be limited to the Selectboard and, in the discretion of the Selectboard, its staff, clerical assistants, legal counsel, the Town Manager or Acting Town Manager, as the case may be, and other persons whose information is needed.

(f) Oath; bond. Before entering into the duties of office, the Town Manager shall be sworn to the impartial and faithful performance of his or her duties. The Selectboard, in its discretion, may require that the Town Manager give a bond in favor of the Town for the faithful performance of his or her duties in a sum and with such sureties as the Selectboard may require. The Town shall pay the premiums for the sureties.

(g) Acting Town Manager.

(1) In the event that the Town Manager shall be, or notifies the Selectboard that he or she intends to be, absent from the Town for a period of time exceeding two consecutive weeks, he or she shall designate an Acting Town Manager and shall fix his or her compensation, subject to review and modification by the Selectboard.

(2) In the event that illness, injury, or other incapacity renders the Town Manager unable to discharge his or her duties, or in the event that the Town Manager is suspended or placed on administrative leave, is terminated, or resigns, the Selectboard shall appoint an Acting Town Manager to serve until such time as the Town Manager is able to assume regular duties or a new Town Manager is appointed.

(3) An Acting Town Manager shall have all the authority and perform all duties of the Town Manager and shall be compensated at a rate of pay not inconsistent with the responsibilities of the position, determined as provided in subdivision (1) of this subsection or as otherwise determined by the Selectboard. An Acting Town Manager shall not serve for more than 90 days, but this time period may be extended for successive periods each not exceeding 90 days, should the Selectboard find it necessary. Subsections (b), (c), (d), and (f) and subdivision (e)(2) of this section shall apply to the Acting Town Manager.

(h) Town Manager disqualification to hold certain offices. In no case shall a Selectboard member, Town Clerk, lister, Town Treasurer, or Tax Collector act as a Town Manager or as an Acting Town Manager. (Added 2011, No. M-17 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 8, 2012.)