Unity elected officials say they have received six applications so far for the town’s recently vacated administrative assistant position, but they haven’t closed the posting yet.
Selectmen Tony Avila and Tim Parker Jr. talked about the search during the board’s Tuesday night meeting. The update comes a day after the Unity town office was forced to close due to a lack of staff following the resignation of Kari Hunt, the former administrative assistant, on Friday. The town’s former Deputy Clerk Anne Goodblood also resigned.
Although select board members said they have received applications from qualified candidates, they aren’t yet beginning interviews. During the meeting, they discussed setting a 30 day deadline to receive more applications before beginning to conduct interviews, though they did not finalize those details. It’s not clear when interviews will begin.
“It’s super important to find somebody that’s well qualified, but how long do you want to have a town office not running?” Parker said.
Town officials said they don’t want to race into any decision on a replacement, but also said they recognized the sense of urgency to find someone to fill the position quickly. The town office is unable to operate without a town administrative assistant.
In the interim, Hunt and Goodblood have agreed to come into the office a few times per month to handle some essential services provided by the town government, including processing mail and phone messages and handling payroll and town warrants. Their continuing assistance was approved through a motion passed 2-0, with Avila and Parker voting in favor. Selectman Daniel McCormick was absent.
Most services provided by the town office are temporarily suspended while the search continues. The town’s tax commitment, originally set to be finalized Friday, will be postponed until an administrative assistant, who also serves as town treasurer, is hired, Avila said.
Unity is the latest rural community in the state to see its town office shuttered due to a lack of staff.
In March, the town of Limestone in Aroostook County closed temporarily following the departure of its two town clerks. Later that month, residents of Woodland, also in Aroostook County, expressed anger after discovering their town office had been closed for two weeks without their knowledge following the departure of its town clerks.