DALTON, Mass. — Following a lack of interest in the vacant town planner position, officials are in support of a pay bump on the next town budget.

On Wednesday, the Finance Committee supported Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson's request to advertise the yearly salary between $56,000 and $62,000 — some pay steps above the current $50,000 offering.

Dalton has not had a town planner since October and the job posting has only gotten four replies that boiled down to one qualified applicant.

"The position was very much appreciated by people in town and by everybody like me, who would have to fill in if we didn't have that position," Hutcheson explained.

"So very useful, had the potential to get a whole lot done, and the more experience the person has, the better quality a candidate we can get, the better we'll be able to do that work."

He said that this pay would also be more commensurate with the other salaries in Town Hall.  According to Salary.com, the average salary for a town planner in Massachusetts is around $60,200.

Though the pay cannot officially be raised in the budget until the annual town meeting, the money saved by having the position vacant for months could likely fill the gap if a person were to be hired.

Committee member Tom Irwin strongly supported the proposal, pointing out that it is critical to have a variety of candidates to choose from.

"I think another important thing to look at is that in the upcoming years, we're going to see a significant need for a planner when it comes to preparing for global climate change," he added.

"And then it's going to be a number of additional projects, more grant funding, more complicated grant funding, more projects that are going to have to be executed in town, and so forth. If we get somebody here that's got a bit more sophistication rather than learning on the fly, it's going to move us now as we get some of the backlogs squared away and it's going to set us up nicely to go forward with some of the Green Committee type stuff that is anticipated."

This was supported by the Select Board last week, which recognized that the town currently has budgeted for an entry-level planner but there are projects of consequence and complexity that may require more experience.

According to the current job posting, the desired qualifications are a bachelor's degree in community planning or a related field and three years of experience as a town planner or related municipal experience. A master's degree and one year of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience also apply.

The position is responsible for technical and administrative work in professional community planning and development; assisting several town boards in reviewing and evaluating specific projects; developing planning approaches and community development projects to stimulate and assist with growth and development in the town and related work; and managing complex administrative, community development and planning activities using comprehensive knowledge of specialized planning and development procedures.

Hutcheson suggested a $56,000 base pay for a 36-hour work week that will equate to $62,000 if the person works 40 hours.

Chair William Drosehn III felt that the flexible pay schedule is complicated and wondered if it should just be a 40-hour work week, recognizing that the position requires being at evening meetings.

"It just seems so convoluted to me these 36 hours with a four-hour contingency and so on and so on and so on. It just seems so blessed and convoluted to me," he said.

"That might be why we're not getting people because they don't understand the convoluted system that we have. I can tell you if I'm looking for a job, I want to know what I'm going to get paid and when I'm going to get paid that."

It is an incentive to work 40 hours but not a requirement, Hutcheson said, which he thinks would be attractive.

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