HAMPDEN, Maine — Town councilors voted Monday to keep Town Manager Susan Lessard on board on a part-time basis through at least late August as the search for her successor winds down.
Lessard, who has been Hampden’s manager for 14 years, announced her plan to leave the town’s employ in March, citing a family health issue and a desire to simplify her life.
She initially planned to step down when her contract expired at the end of June but since had agreed to stay on two days a week through this summer.
Mayor David Ryder said Tuesday that Lessard will be paid on an hourly basis and will not receive benefits.
On days Lessard is not in the office, Public Safety Director Joe Rogers will stand in in her place, Ryder said.
Ryder said the town, which hired Eaton Peabody Consulting Group to help with the search, received about 25 applications for the manager post.
The group of applicants reflected a “pretty good mix,” he said, with hopefuls from a variety of backgrounds, from Maine as well as out of state.
He said the town narrowed the candidate pool to six and will conduct interviews June 23 and June 26.
Among the tasks Lessard will handle over the summer are the town’s transition to a new health insurance program for employees, preparing year-end financial information for the annual audit and working on stormwater management issues.
Before coming to Hampden in late 2000, Lessard was Vinalhaven’s town manager from 1993 to 2000.
She began her public service career in 1982 as Searsport’s town clerk. In 1986, she became Livermore Falls’ town manager, then worked for the Maine Tomorrow consulting firm from 1988 to 1991. She returned to the public sector in 1991 as town manager of Fayette.
In August 2011, Lessard submitted her resignation, saying she wanted to make life changes.
In January 2012, Lessard was tapped to become Southwest Harbor’s finance director but decided to return to her former job in Hampden in March of that year, after efforts to hire two finalists for her post fell through.
Ryder said the council hopes to have the new manager in place by early September.