Cherryfield votes away town manager post

CHERRYFIELD – The town of 1,150, which has no police or public works departments, no longer has a town manager either.

That was the determination last week when Cherryfield residents gathered for a special town meeting. While six of them voted to keep the town manager’s position, 31 of them said they could do without one.

The town has gone four months without a manager, ever since George Hanington had his last day on the job July 30.

So far, so good, residents seemed to have said, as they voted away the position by written ballots.

The town’s tasks now fall to the five selectmen and two people who work in the office: Mona West, an administrative assistant, and Bonnie Sproul, a clerk.

The elimination of the position is a complete turnaround for the town, whose selectmen only in May had upheld the notion that the town manager was needed on the job full-time.

Hanington had felt that the town would manage fine last spring if selectmen approved fewer hours for him. Rather than work five days a week, he proposed working just four days a week at a lower salary. He wanted to have more time for his personal interests.

But the selectmen said they would rather have someone full-time than Hanington part-time, so Hanington tendered his resignation. He gave two months’ notice in order for selectmen to bring in a new manager, whom Hanington could train.

Selectmen then took a wait-and-see approach after July 30 to see how soon they would find themselves in a pinch and needing a manager again.

Apparently, all is well without one.

“There were some comments that we could try this change for a year or two, and we could get another town manager if this isn’t working,” West said Monday.

“The bigger point was that we don’t have the departments that a manager would oversee, so why have a manager?”

The town had advertised the position recently and had attracted about five candidates – just in case residents wanted to keep the manager’s position. The five who applied will be notified that the position is no longer offered, West said.