CALAIS, Maine — Calais City Manager Diane Barnes has accepted the position as town manager of Lisbon, officials for both communities confirmed Wednesday.
Barnes is expected to tender her resignation to the City Council at a special meeting Thursday night, according to Calais Mayor Marianne Moore. It will be effective June 27, and Barnes will start her new duties June 30, Moore said.
“It’s a very said day for Calais,” Moore said Wednesday. She praised Barnes for her leadership and expertise in fiscal affairs during her seven-year tenure.
“She has worked very, very hard to put the city in a good financial situation,” Moore said. “She ran a tight ship. I have nothing but praise for Diane and her work.”
Barnes already notified the council of her selection earlier this month as the single finalist for the Lisbon position, Moore said.
Barnes, who did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday, informed Moore Tuesday night after the Lisbon Town Council voted 6-0 to offer her the job, according to the mayor.
Lisbon officials confirmed Wednesday Barnes was given a three-year contract that will pay her $83,000 per year.
That community, with a population of about 9,300 people, is roughly three times the size of Calais.
City Council used the Maine Municipal Association to recruit applicants, screen applications and recommend candidates when Barnes was hired seven years ago, Moore noted. “I assume that’s the way it would go,” she said, referring to the process of naming a new city manager.
Barnes was named to the top post in Calais in June 2007. She engineered a refinancing of wastewater bonds in 2010 that saved the city $477,000 in interest. Calais also left the Washington County Medical Service Authority — a quasi-municipal entity that oversees Downeast EMS operations — and began operating its own ambulance service.
The Calais post was the first for Barnes as a municipal manager. She graduated from Skowhegan Area High School and has worked in various positions in Skowhegan town government for 20 years.
Barnes is a graduate of the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service’s Municipal Leadership Program.