01:00 AM EST on Friday, December 8, 2006

By Maria Armental

Journal Staff Writer

CHARLESTOWN — Acting Town Administrator Edward M. Barrett is expected to be appointed town administrator Monday.

“The majority of the council appointed [Barrett] acting town administrator,” Councilman James M. Mageau said last night, “and the three of us – if we reach a consensus – will appoint him full-time administrator.”

“Majority rules,” Mageau said.

Barrett was appointed to the position on Nov. 20 on a 3-to-2 vote to replace former Town Administrator Richard J. Sartor, who submitted his resignation on Nov. 8. Barrett’s appointment would expire on Dec. 28, when Sartor’s resignation becomes effective.

Barrett currently makes a pro-rated $76,000 annual salary with $400 a month for transportation costs, Council Vice President Harriet A. Allen said.

Council members had originally discussed appointing Barrett interim administrator, effectively extending his contract for up to six months.

If his permanent appointment is approved, Barrett, of Duxbury, Mass., would be appointed to a one-year probationary period.

Under the Town Charter, Barrett would not have to relocate to Rhode Island, within 25 miles of Charlestown, until his 18th month of service.

Allen and Council President Katharine H. Waterman have called for an open and competitive search to fill the position.

“It is imperative that such an important position only be filled after a thorough search, a complete background check and interviews are conducted,” Allen wrote, adding council members have only been given a copy of a résumé that is six years old.

“The townspeople … would expect the council to make sure we hire the most qualified applicant,” Waterman said. “They pay his salary. We owe them that much.”

Allen said that while the charter does not mandate a search to hire the town administrator, failing to hire the most qualified candidate at the lowest cost to taxpayers appears to violate the charter’s intent to protect the town’s best interests.

But Craig, who worked with Barrett on his first stint as town administrator in 2000-2001, defended Barrett’s performance and questioned why Allen and Waterman were calling for an administrator’s search now when that process was not followed when Sartor was appointed.

“In the past, they hired administrators without going for a search and now, all of a sudden, they want to do it the right way,” Craig said, adding Barrett is a good candidate, “middle-of-the-road,” who listens to all people.

“If I were to do it over again, I might not do it the same way,” Waterman said of her support for Sartor’s noncompetitive hiring. “There were those who spoke out very strongly about the shortcomings of the process, and I think they were probably right.”

Personal likes aside, Allen said, a background check is necessary to protect the interests of the town.

“We never did a full background check on Sartor, and we should [have] because he had problems, and Ed [Barrett] had problems in New Hampshire and, I think, in Maine,” Allen said.

“I like him and I liked Sartor, but liking someone and knowing their background and hiring them, it’s a huge difference,” she said.

Barrett was hired in September 2000 and fired in June 2001. The three council members who voted to dismiss him said he had been uncooperative with the council.

Craig, who then served as council president, and the council vice president resigned following Barrett’s firing.

Barrett did not return calls for comment.

The council is also expected to discuss the appointment of the town solicitors – who remain a holdover from the previous council – and the town planner. Mageau said he intends to ask the administrator to advertise for a full-time planner. The town currently has two planning consultants.