Hanover makes interim town manager permanent
Published: 10-10-2024 6:01 PM |
HANOVER — The Selectboard appointed Robert Houseman to the permanent town manager position earlier this week.
Prior to Monday’s appointment, which was effective immediately, Houseman had served as interim town manager since Aug. 1. He replaced former Town Manager Alex Torpey, who stepped down in July.
The Selectboard offered Houseman the position in a non-public session “after authorizing the hire via a unanimous vote,” Selectboard Chairman Carey Callaghan said in an announcement posted on the town website. Houseman will make an annual salary of $172,000, Callaghan said in a Thursday interview.
“Rob’s long-time commitment and leadership in Hanover and the Board’s close work with him in his interim role convinced the Board that Rob is the most appropriate person to lead Hanover in the coming years,” Callaghan said in the announcement.
Prior to becoming interim town manager, Houseman, 61, had been director of the Hanover Department of Planning, Zoning and Codes since 2016, and has 38 years of municipal experience in New Hampshire.
The Selectboard did not conduct a broader search to fill the town manager position, Callaghan said in a Thursday interview. The board feels “quite confident” in promoting Houseman, Callaghan said, and selecting him instead of spending time conducting a broader search, “accelerates quite a lot of our plans.”
Houseman has been “proactive in meeting with Town employees,” and “boards, committees and various stakeholders,” a joint statement from the Selectboard noted, adding that the board has received positive feedback about his work.
“We were already very positive with respect to his candidacy and the more feedback we got we realized that we really felt confident in moving forward,” Callaghan said.
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Clare Shanahan can be reached at cshanahan@ vnews.com or 603-727-3216.