Updated 7/20 @ 10:48am
During an executive session at last night’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen the board in a split vote elected not to renew Town Administrator Kevin Mearn’s contract. As of today, Annmarie Fagan is the acting Town Administrator.
In what is likely to be a bit of a shock to the town and comes at a “difficult time” Chair of the Selectmen Tom Hurley confirmed that Mr. Mearn’s contract was not renewed. Bob Sweeney and Denis Keohane voted not to renew the contract, Mr. Hurley was in favor of renewing the contract. Hurley mentioned that the town has a number of ongoing issues in which Mr. Mearn was intimately involved. These include but are not limited to litigation regarding the wind turbine, a variety of contract negotiations, coordinating with the Planning Board on issues such as the Hendries development, and working to help establish the newly formed Consolidated Facilities Department.
These issues will be managed by Annmarie Fagan who will serve as interim Town Administrator until a search committee is formed to identify and recommend a permanent replacement for Mr. Mearn.
Reached via email Mr. Sweeney wrote, “The members of the Board of Selectmen are all relatively new. It seems to me that a new fresh Town Administrator will not only complement the Board but more importantly will serve the best interests of the citizens of Milton as we move forward.” Regarding his vote, Mr. Keohane echoed Sweeney, writing, “We are looking to move the town in a new direction with a fresh start.”
The Patriot Ledger reports that: “Hurley said he has checked with town counsel, who has advised the vote does not meet the requirements of the state’s open meeting law. Hurley expects that to be corrected with a vote at the board’s next week.” You can find the Ledger article here.