HERMON, Maine — Hermon town councilors have hired Auburn City Manager Howard Kroll, a former Brewer city clerk and assistant city manager, as the successor to Town Manager Roger Raymond, who is retiring later this summer.
Kroll said in a recent telephone interview that while he’s enjoyed his time with the city of Auburn, he is looking forward to his new job in Hermon.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’ve had a great time down here,” Kroll said. “I’ve gotten along with virtually everyone, but my wife and son are still up in Brewer. This was a perfect opportunity, almost great timing, that Roger Raymond decided to submit his retirement.”
Kroll’s starting date in Hermon was not available Wednesday.
“It was honestly just luck that it happened [at this time]. It’s not like I was actually pursuing anything. I found out about [the Hermon manager search] so I was able to transition out of here” and back to Penobscot County, Kroll said.
Raymond, who came out of retirement to take the Hermon manager post four years ago, said earlier that he and his wife have purchased a winter home in Florida and plan to spend summers at their camp in Maine.
Hermon Town Council Chairman Tim McCluskey said that Kroll was runner-up for the Hermon manager post when it opened up four years ago.
McCluskey said that Kroll’s salary has been set at $86,000 a year, with 2 percent annual increases over the next five years.
Before he joined the city of Auburn’s staff, initially as assistant manager and later as manager, Kroll was hired as Brewer’s assistant city manager in December 2001. He later became city clerk and remained in that position until he left for Auburn in November 2012.
Other work experience includes serving as town manager for St. Agatha and Milbridge, as an account manager for Mede America Corp. in West Seneca, New York, and as a U.S. Navy officer, stationed on the U.S.S. New Jersey.
Kroll earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Maine, where his studies focused on public management-administration and community development.