ST. GEORGE, Maine — John Falla, whose roots run deep in this community at the tip of a 15-mile-long peninsula off Route 1, has announced he plans to retire as town manager.
His father, Richard, had been a selectman, planning board member and school board representative in the 1950s and 1960s. His mother, Phyllis, had been a teacher.
Falla followed in those footsteps and for the past 30 years has been the top administrator of St. George, a coastal community with a year-round population of 3,000, which swells to as much as 7,000 in the summer.
But he said the time has come for him to step down. He said he plans to leave the post when his current contract expires June 30 of next year.
The average term of municipal managers can generally be counted on one hand, but Falla has been an exception.
“You have to separate the position from the individual,” Falla said about being criticized for something, adding he knows it is aimed at the position rather than him.
“There is a thickening of the skin,” said Falla, a St. George native who acknowledges he was born out of town at the former Knox Hospital in Rockland.
Thirty years ago, Falla ran his own accounting and financial consulting business in the St. George village of Tenants Harbor. He had served for a year and a half as a member of the board of selectmen beginning in 1983 but opted not to seek re-election so he could devote more time to his young family and business.
In 1986, Walter Young retired from the town manager post and Falla was hired initially as interim manager. A year later, he was appointed to the position without the interim designation.
Falla said it is time to retire.
His wife, Lorraine, retired as a second-grade teacher at the Cushing School three years ago. Falla said he will be 63 next year and he wants to travel and spend more time with his four grandchildren, who range in ages from 2 to 6 years old.
He and his wife downsized last year to a smaller home with 40 acres. His son and his family are building a home on one side and his daughter and family plan to build on the other.
Falla said he has enjoyed his time as manager. He said that it can sometimes be a “24-7” job. Falla attends many evening meetings and has gone to fire scenes in the middle of the night. During a major storm a few years ago, Falla went out with the public works crew to inspect the damage from the rainfall.
“You do what has to be done,” Falla said.
On Monday, the selectmen voted unanimously to contract with the Maine Municipal Association to assist in the search for Falla’s replacement.
Falla said he believes the town will attract good applicants because of its reputation as a stable community.
The board will meet again Sept. 12 with David Barrett of the MMA. According to the minutes of Monday’s board of selectmen meeting, Barrett said there might be 20 to 25 applicants.
Barrett said there are not that many people who want town manager jobs. In addition, he said, working in local government is not considered pleasurable. On the plus side, he said, if an applicant is looking for a town in which to relocate, he or she would see that St. George has a 30-year incumbent and therefore does not have a history of changing town managers frequently.