Bedford council’s town manager search down to five candidates

Friday, January 27, 2012

And then there were five.

The Bedford Town Council has pared the applicants for Bedford’s next town manager to five people after following a nonpublic session held Jan. 18, council Chairman Bill Dermody said Wednesday.

The selection process, which began with 52 applications, was whittled down to eight leading up the Jan. 18 meeting and looks to eliminate another two hopefuls by Feb. 1.

The selection process began with acting Town Manager and Finance/Personnel Director Crystal Dionne’s sorting of all applicants into categories of “qualified,” “nonqualified” and “gray area” candidates. Copies of all applications, however, were forwarded to councilors with the applicants’ names removed and an alphanumeric identifier in its place.

The council looked at the eight candidates’ essay questions and performed preliminary background checks via Internet search engines to shrink the pool.

The top five candidates include one individual who got a second look from councilors, Dermody said, after their “borderline” local government experience landed them in the pile of “nonqualified” applicants.

“We went through the ‘nonqualified’ pile, and one of the applicants has some interesting background that the council thought might be interesting that we at least take this person through the essay questions,” Dermody said.

The next step in the process involves interviews with the top five’s personal references, Dermody said, and the finalization of a council questionnaire that will be used as a timed stress exercise for the last three left standing.

The council will bring the top three candidates in for interviews, conduct a “formal, stringent” background search on each individual, and have the candidates meet with town department heads, Dermody said.

Their hope is to have a town manager negotiated, hired and announced by the first week of March “if all goes according to plan,” Dermody said.

“Hopefully by the time we’re finished, we’ll satisfy ourselves that we’ll get somebody that’s more than acceptable to the entire council,” Dermody said. “But that remains to be seen.”

Maryalice Gill can be reached at 594-6490 or mgill@nashuatelegraph.com. Follow Gill on Twitter (@Telegraph_MAG).