HADLEY — Officials are turning to their back-up choice to become Hadley’s next town administrator after contract negotiations failed with the Select Board’s original selection.
Select Board Chairman David J. Fill II announced Thursday that the board is entering into contract talks with Carolyn F. Brennan of Wilbraham to succeed David Nixon in the position. Nixon announced that he would be departing at the end of this year after serving in the position since 2005.
Brennan is a member of her town’s Select Board and the executive director of the East Longmeadow Council on Aging.
The decision to negotiate with Brennan, for a position advertised with salary range of $90,000 to $110,000, comes just under a month after the July 8 meeting in which the board voted 3-2 to hire Thomas M. Guerino of Vernon, Vermont, to be the third permanent administrator for the town. Guerino was a longtime administrator in Bourne.
Select Board members Jane Nevinsmith and Christian Stanley both favored Brennan over Guerino at the time, though board member John Waskiewicz said either finalist would be a good choice.
Fill said an agreement with Guerino stalled over non-salary benefits.
“As a result we have withdrawn our employment offer and have agreed to go our separate ways,” Fill said.
As with Guerino, Brennan will only assume the position if there is a clean background check and she and the board can reach a contract agreement.
Nixon will remain on through the transition.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.