Natick Select Board Chair Karen Adelman-Foster acknowledged that “it was a bit of a surprise” that negotiations with the board’s unanimous choice for Town Administrator fell through late last month. It was no surprise that the board this week voted during its regular meeting to enter contract negotiations with Deputy Town Administrator and now Acting Town Administrator Jamie Errickson, who had clearly been the consensus #2 choice, to ditch the Deputy from his title.
Errickson, during the earlier decision-making, had more than once been described by board members as “a rising star.”
During this week’s board meeting, member Rick Jennett said he had no desire to go back to the drawing board based on the fact Natick already had excellent candidates, with Errickson being his top choice among them. “Mr. Errickson is extremely capable, qualified…and I’m hoping we can come to terms with him and he can continue to move forward as a strong leader in our community,” he said.
While the previous top candidate, Adam Chapdelaine, stood out in terms of his experience based on time, said Select Board member Paul Joseph, Errickson’s differentiation is his “deep experience in terms of community.”
According to Natick’s town website: “The Town Administrator is appointed by the Select Board to oversee the daily operations of the town, advise and administer the policies and procedures of the Select Board and enforce town bylaws and actions passed by Town Meeting.”
The discussion on this matter took all of about 15 minutes.
After a self-described “dramatic pause,” Errickson agreed to enter contract negotiations upon the board’s approval to do so.
Advertise things like affordable housing opportunities…on Natick Report.
Leave a Reply