Following an election last month that swept her critics into power, Camden Town Manager Audra Caler is set to step down at the end of this year.
The town and Caler agreed to part ways Dec. 31, according to a “memorandum of agreement for continued employment” that Caler and new Select Board Chair Christopher Nolan signed on June 26.
Nolan said Thursday the document is a contract extension that will allow time for a transition between leadership.
The town will begin searching for a new town manager with help from the Maine Municipal Association, with whom they have already been in contact, Nolan said.
Caler’s previous contract with the town entitled her to six months severance and notice if the Select Board was not going to renew her contract. At a June 16 organizational meeting, the board did not include Caler in the list of appointed staff members being renewed.
Under the new agreement, if Caler finds another job before Dec. 31, she can take that position and still receive 50% of her pay and benefits from Camden through the end of the year.
In addition, neither party is allowed to disparage the other under the agreement.
“The parties hereby acknowledge for clarity and the historical record that there are no existing corrections, disciplinary warnings or actions, letters of reprimand, or recordings within Ms. Caler’s official Personnel file relating to her employment with the Town of Camden,” it states. “To date, Ms. Caler has performed her duties and responsibilities in an exemplary manner. The separation of employment as of December 31, 2026, is a mutual decision of the parties signing below.”
The Select Board has been meeting with its attorney, Bill Kelly, in closed-door executive sessions on “personnel matters.” Two more of those meetings are set for Tuesday, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Town Office.
Asked if the Select Board had taken a vote on this agreement, Nolan would not provide details to the Midcoast Villager.
The agreement is on the “consent agenda” for the July 7 Select Board meeting, to be confirmed and ratified publicly at that time.
It was stated at the June 16 meeting that Caler would be on medical leave for a few weeks. Nolan said that leave and the new agreement are not related.
In the interim, Finance Director Jodi Hanson is filling in as acting town manager.
Caler was hired as town manager in June 2017, having served previously as acting city manager in Rockland. She replaced Patricia Finnigan, who resigned Jan. 18 of that year in the wake of financial issues related to a Camden Snow Bowl expansion project.
The change in leadership at the Town Office comes after the consequential June 9 election in which Nolan was reelected to the board and Bobbi Oxton Blake was elected to replace Alison McKellar, who opted not to run for reelection. The election titled the balance of power on the Select Board away from a 3-2 majority that had supported some controversial proposals, such as changes to the town police department, a massive river restoration project that included removal of the Montgomery Dam, and the new paid parking program.
The new Select Board majority is pressing its agenda.
At its next meeting, the board will take up two items related to paid parking.
One action item will be to possibly set up a Financial Independent Review Committee to look at the costs and benefits of paid parking and prepare a report to inform both the public and the Select Board of its findings.
Nolan said he hopes this report will be useful ahead of a potential ballot measure in November, even on a nonbinding question, to see if the town residents support the paid parking program.
He hopes to have information technology experts, financial analysts and auditors on this committee.
A second item on the agenda, “Update on the Paid Parking program,” will provide an opportunity for the board to hear from local residents about their experiences and what they have witnessed with people using the paid parking kiosks in town, Nolan said.
He said the board may vote on whether to “bag” the kiosks until a vote in November.
“Is it worth the discord that it’s causing?” Nolan asked. “I don’t want one more business to lose one more customer who is frustrated by parking and left.”
He added, however, “I’m only one vote.”
Pointing to data showing a decline in retail sales in Knox County, Nolan said the town cannot afford to lose business due to parking issues.
The Tuesday, July 7, Select Board meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the French Conference Room at the Town Office.
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.