SELECTMEN NEWS: Town Establishes Process To Hire New Finance Director

WILMINGTON, MA — Longtime Town Accountant Mike Morris will be retiring on July 12, 2019, after more than 30 years of service to Wilmington.

At the recommendation of Town Manager Jeff Hull, Selectmen recently agreed to establish a Finance Director/Town Accountant position to fill Morris’s upcoming vacancy. The revised position will manage and supervise the town’s accounting, treasury, collections, and assessing departments.

At Monday night’s meeting, Selectmen unanimously approved the establishment of a process and timeline for the recruitment and hiring of Morris’s replacement:

• Week of February 11: Advertise the position on the Town’s website; Massachusetts Municipal Association website; Massachusetts Municipal Auditor’s Association; and Massachusetts Collector & Treasurer Association.
• Recruitment notice will state that resumes/applications shall be accepted until the position is filled and the expected start date will be June 3, 2019.
• Establish a screening committee to include one or two members of the Board of Selectmen for purposes of screening resumes/job applications and establishing a short list of candidates for preliminary interviews.
• Week of March 4: Screening committee reviews resumes and establish an interview pool.
• Week of March 11: Conduct preliminary interviews with candidates for the position.
• Week of March 18: Prepare a recommended “short list” of candidates to present to Selectmen.
• Week of March 25 and April 1: Board of Selectmen interview candidates.
• April 8: Board of Selectmen vote to make job offer subject to terms.
• Week of April 8: Town Manager will contact the selected candidate to offer them the position and negotiate terms.
• April 22: Board of Selectmen vote to make official appointment of new Finance Director/Town Accountant.

“One goal of this transition is for the Board to appoint a candidate who would be able to begin work in Wilmington prior to Mr. Morris’s departure,” Hull explained in a memo to Selectmen. “It is likely that qualified candidates may need to provide their existing employer with anywhere from a thirty to sixty day notification of their departure date. [This outline schedule] attempts to provide a best estimate for a timeline that will enable to make an appointment far enough in advance of Mr. Morris’ departure to provide a transition period.”

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