This story has been updated from the print edition published August 31, 2016
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
LYNNFIELD — The search for a new Director of Public Works is in full swing.
The deadline for applicants to apply for the position is Friday, Sept. 2 at noon.
The opening became available earlier this summer when current DPW Director Andrew Lafferty tendered his resignation effective Sept. 9 after two years on the job.
Six DPW employees attended the Aug. 15 selectmen’s meeting at which the search for Lafferty’s successor was announced. Four of them urged the selectmen to convince Lafferty to stay on the job, citing the positive changes he brought to the department during his short tenure. One employee stated he believes Lafferty is taking the hit for them when the real issue is a perpetual manpower shortage in the 15-member department which makes it difficult to get all their varied jobs done.
The DPW Director is a department head position that reports directly to the town administrator. The initial screening of potential candidates will be conducted by Town Administrator Jim Boudreau, who will present his top picks to the selectmen.
After the T.A. narrows down the field of applicants, the finalists will be interviewed one-on-one individually by each selectman, in private, over the next week or so. At a subsequent selectmen’s meeting, possibly as early as Monday, Sept. 12, the selectmen will discuss publicly for the first time the candidates each believes would be the best fit for the position and why. If a majority consensus is reached, the board will vote to offer the position subject to the candidate accepting the town’s offer and an agreement being reached between the town and the applicant on the compensation package and contract conditions.
The selectmen will direct the T.A. to conduct those negotiations. Assuming these negotiations are successful at a subsequent public meeting, Boudreau will submit the contract to the selectmen seeking an endorsement of the terms and a vote to finalize the appointment.
The earlier print edition version of this story incorrectly stated that the selectmen would interview the finalists in public. That format will not be used, the Villager has learned.
The town is seeking applicants for this position who have a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering or a related field and “a minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in a public works supervisory setting,” according to the advertisement posted for the position in the Villager and other newspapers and on the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) website.
The ad further states that the DPW Director will perform “complex administrative and professional functions” while overseeing the town’s highway, cemetery, parks and playgrounds divisions as well as all town-owned buildings and school building maintenance and cleaning, vehicle maintenance, street lighting, rubbish collection and disposal, school busing, snow and ice removal, and public works administration.
The salary for the position will be determined based on the successful candidate’s experience and qualifications.
Resumes sent to the attention of Town Administrator James Boudreau may be submitted either electronically to: jboudreau@town.lynnfield.ma.us or mailed to: James M. Boudreau, Town Administrator, 55 Summer Street, Lynnfield, MA 01940.
