Overview:
Pam Guyette, who has been serving as interim town administrator since March, has been appointed as the permanent town administrator of Buckland. Guyette, a lifelong resident of the town, has been working at Town Hall for 18 years and will resign as director of assessing to take on the new job. The Selectboard expressed overwhelming support for Guyette's appointment, citing her knowledge of the town and dedication to the position. In other news, the town is looking to hire a new tax collector as the current tax collector/treasurer, Cara Leach, has resigned from her role to take a full-time position elsewhere beginning in September.
BUCKLAND — Following a stint in the interim role, lifelong resident Pam Guyette has been tapped as the permanent town administrator.
Guyette, who has worked in Town Hall for 18 years, has been serving as interim town administrator on top of her duties as director of assessing since March, when former Town Administrator Heather Butler resigned. She was appointed by the Selectboard to keep the town administrator position on Thursday after submitting a letter formally throwing her hat in the ring.
“Having been a lifelong resident of this town and sitting in this building for the last 18 years, I want nothing more than to have the best for this town,” said Guyette, who will be resigning as director of assessing to take on the new job. “If I can do my part in any way, I’m happy to do that.”
Selectboard members expressed overwhelming support for Guyette’s offer and said they had been hoping to promote from within, and particularly hoped that it would be Guyette to fill the position.
“With her knowledge of the town, with her dedication to the town, I think that she is the right person for the job,” Selectboard Chair Clint Phillips said. “Especially these last couple of weeks, every time I’ve checked in with Pam, she’s been on top of it. She’s been seeing everything through, keeping everything going and jumping right in with both feet.”
“It’s such an advantage for us to have someone like you up here, someone who knows the town so well, and you have the right personality to be a leader,” Selectboard member Joan Livingston added.
Phillips said he researched state laws and the town’s bylaws to determine what the requirements are for hiring a new town administrator. He found the town did not have to advertise the position externally and could opt to promote from within. Phillips and Livingston voted to promote Guyette, and said they would negotiate her contract at a future meeting when the full board could be present. Member Larry Wells was absent from the meeting.
The director of the assessing position falls under the purview of the Board of Assessors, which means the board will be responsible for reviewing the job description and advertising the position, according to Guyette. She said she sees the position as one that could likely be a part-time, 16-hour-per-week job.
Tax collector/treasurer
Additionally, the town is looking to hire a new tax collector as the current tax collector/treasurer, Cara Leach, has resigned from her role to take a full-time position elsewhere beginning in September. However, she told the Selectboard that she would be willing to remain the town’s treasurer and recommended that the two positions be split.
Leach presented the board with job descriptions that were revised with help from the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston. As the tax collector position is a more public-facing role that requires office hours for residents to make payments or ask questions about their tax bills, she recommended the board hire a new part-time tax collector. Leach said treasurer duties, on the other hand, are something she can complete remotely on evenings and weekends. She added that if the town divides the tax collector/treasurer salary budget, there should be enough funding to accommodate both her hours for treasurer duties and to hire a new tax collector.
“We’re very good at thinking outside the box here in Buckland,” Guyette said. “There’s so many moving parts right now in Buckland. … Cara does a phenomenal job and she really adds so much. I think as we’re going through all these transitions, if we could keep her in that role, and she’s willing to give this a shot, I think it would be silly not to accept her offer.”
Leach suggested the Selectboard meet again in three months to discuss how the arrangement is working for her and the town. The board accepted her resignation as tax collector and will have her continue as treasurer.
“I think it’s an experiment worth trying,” Livingston said.
Guyette said this additional transition will be another challenge for staff, but she feels confident the employees will continue to step up and fill gaps as needed.
“We have really good people in place here and nothing’s going to slip through the cracks,” Guyette said. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to staff Buckland completely.”
