Former mayor eyed for town's interim position

Former mayor eyed for town's interim position 

Eryn Dion
News Staff Writer

TEMPLETON — The Board of Selectmen hinted at Monday night’s meeting that they might be close to finding an interim town coordinator to fill a posiiton left open by Jeffery Ritter.

Currently serving an interim position with a town in Franklin County, the possible contender was described as a “very qualified individual” by board Chairman Jeffery Bennett.

“I don’t know how we lucked out in this way,” he said during the meeting.


The candidate, whose name was withheld during the meeting, had an extensive resume, filling several similar positions in small towns around Massachusetts, and most notably, formerly serving as the mayor of Springfield. Although officially retired, the potential candidate reportedly likes to ‘keep busy’ helping towns through tough situations.

Although nothing is official yet, a meeting with board members has been scheduled for early Wednesday evening where the interested party will answer individual questions. This meet and greet will also include the board’s newest member, who is slated to be elected Tuesday night.

One of the topics on the agenda for Wednesday is whether or not the candidate would feel comfortable taking on the responsibilities of an interim town administrator, as opposed to coordinator. Board member Doug Morrison expressed concern that hiring this individual as a coordinator, even with their sterling credentials, would not go far in terms of resolving existing issues.

“We need to give this person some authority,” he said.

The board and Mr. Ritter were all in agreement that this was a miraculous find for Templeton, remarking that he seemed to ”fall out of the sky”. The town is currently facing both a budget crisis and the monumental task of hiring their first town administrator, and the candidate’s experience could prove invaluable.

“The help we could get from him is just amazing,” Mr. Ritter said.

A date for the decision was not given Monday night, and while the selectmen are meeting with the individual on Wednesday, nothing can officially be decided until the next public meeting.