Pool of Applicants for Charter Review Committee Vacancy Declared Insufficient

Search to Fill Vacancy Will Remain Open

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded

At their previous  meeting on August 12, members of the Governance, Organization, and Legislation Committee of the Town Council (GOL) declined to declare that the pool of two applicants Darcy DuMont and Anita Sarro) for the opening on the Charter Review Committee to be sufficient to continue with the interview process to appoint a new member. GOL members met with the Charter Review Committee on August 21, and received mixed messages about whether or not the vacancy that has existed since Dan Muscat resigned in January should be filled.

Members of the Charter Review Committee were divided  as to whether it was worthwhile to fill the longstanding vacancy on the committee at this late date with the preliminary report of the committee expected to be submitted to the Town Council in late October. Because some members expressed the need for help in researching and writing the report and others cited the difficulty sometimes of achieving a quorum, GOL decided to leave the search open in the hopes of getting more applicants for the vacancy in the near future.

GOL member Pat DeAngelis said she would like at least one or two more applicants, because “there are no alternatives, if we split [on preferred candidates], then we pick a really good candidate who is a compromised candidate, and we have no access to compromise when there are just two people for one spot.” The other GOL members agreed that the pool of two applicants was not enough to fill the position. Lynn Griesemer said, “I think we have capable candidates. We just don’t have a sufficient pool.” GOL chair Ana Devlin Gauthier stated that an adequate pool of applicants takes into account not only the number, but also demographic diversity and the current needs of the body.

Hala Lord suggested that those applying to participate in the Civic Academy course on local government to be held this fall be asked if they want to submit a Community Activity Form (CAF) for the Charter Review Committee, as a means of achieving a larger pool of applicants. Devlin Gauthier will contact Communications Manager Samantha Giffen about encouraging Civic Academy applicants to apply for the Charter Review Committee. 

GOL members decided to revisit the interview questions and selection criteria for the Charter Review Committee at its next meeting, scheduled for September 16.