Selectboard doesn’t renew TA contract

BELCHERTOWN – The Selectboard is beginning the process to find a replacement for the town administrator at its meeting on Monday after discussing changing to a town manager form.

Town Administrator Gary Brougham was informed in an April 11 letter from Selectboard Chair Jennifer Turner that his contract would not be renewed.

“As you are aware during executive session on April 4, the board voted to not renew the current contract which expires on Oct. 31, 2022,” reads the letter. “This letter serves as an official notification of this decision as outlined in your contact. Thank you in advance for your willingness to assist during the search for a new Town Manager.”

The vote not to renew Brougham’s contract was a 3-2 split, with Selectboard members Ed Boscher, Nick Pucel, and Turner opting not to renew his contract for a year and members Ron Aponte and Jim Barry voting in favor. During the Selectboard meeting on April 11, the board discussed changing from a town administrator to a town manager.

Aponte said the current structure is having a “hybrid manager” due to a certain amount of autotomy while the Selectboard maintains appointing authority.

Boscher said throughout the years department heads have reported to respective boards and committees, so he wanted to see if there could be clarity regarding who reports to whom.

Aponte said he thought it was a good time to clarify.

“For years Town Planner Doug Albertson reported to the S Planning Board, does he report to Gary? Does he report to both? Does he report to neither?” Aponte said.

Barry said according to the draft description, the department heads could report to the town manager.

“In part B of this, actual members of these boards would be appointed by the manager, rather than coming to us to appoint people based on what they told us to do,” Barry said. “It might be that department head appointments would be subject to our ratification, but committees and agencies might be subject to our review.”

Turner said she believed there should be communication and collaboration between the new Human Resources Director position and the town manager.

Pucel said he was “all for autonomy, efficiency, and building the team out.”

Aponte explained the way he saw the new structure.

“It is starting to morph into the town manager is the preside and the Selectboard is the board of directors,” he said.

The Selectboard opted to continue the conversation regarding the town manager’s job description at its next meeting.

Brougham, in an interview with The Sentinel—he did not appear at the meeting—said he feels the voters of Belchertown “deserve better.”

“I think they will likely demand an answer,” he said. “It’s not right. What example are we setting for people who are considering working here? What message are we sending?”

He said he was grateful to Barry and Aponte who “have done a lot of heavy lifting in town.”

“My track record speaks for itself, I may not have done everything the way I wanted to, but I always tried,” Brougham said. “I’m disappointed this is how my tenure will end.”

Brougham has been working in Belchertown since 1993, when he began at the Department of Public Works.