Town Manager Residency Requirement Could Be Dropped

MANSFIELD, MA — New Town Manager Kevin Dumas has to move to Mansfield in the near future, but that could change.

The selectmen voted to place an article on the Town Meeting warrant which would remove the town charter’s residency requirement for the town manager and perhaps replace it with nothing or a requirement that the person in the position has to live within a certain distance from Town Hall. The current placeholder is 50 miles and is subject to change.

“I think it limits your pool of candidates to start with. We hired a fantastic person, we were lucky but that being said, it limits our pools,” Selectman Jess Aptowitz said. “We live in an age of electronics. In my mind, if there was a major emergency, the first responders are police, fire, and DPW. The town manager is not going to be the first one on the lines.”

Selectman Frank DelVecchio noted that the original candidate of choice from the last town manager search did not meet the residency requirement and turned down the job when he decided that he didn’t want to move to Mansfield.

“I would favor just eliminating it. I don’t know what you gain from it. It’s your job, you want to get paid, you want to do a good job whether you live in Norton or Mansfield,” Selectman Neil Rhein said.

Chairman Michael Trowbridge said the charter change would be considered minor and not require a ballot question.

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