The Town Administrator Workgroup — in spite of an even split between members advocating for a town manager position and a town administrator position — have agreed to tender a final recommendation of Newtown hiring a town administrator.

The final recommendation was something of a compromise, as they are recommending the town administrator in the short term, to alleviate increasing burden on the first selectman. The recommendation also says the town should continue to evaluate if the town administrator is meeting the town’s needs or if a move to professional management is necessary.

The workgroup’s August 7 meeting saw Chair Maureen Crick Owen and member Pat Llodra making the case for a town administrator, which they saw as an incremental step that would be more likely to be accepted by residents, as well as assist the first selectman by taking day-to-day administrative duties off their plate so the first selectman can focus on long-term planning.

The decision is the end of a long process by the workgroup, which has spent the last few months interviewing town officials, both from Newtown and surrounding towns that have either a town manager or town administrator, as part of its information gathering phase. With information gathering done, the group sat down to hash out what its final recommendation would be.

The process began with a charge from First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, who credited the hiring of Matt Knickerbocker as town administrator by Wilton for giving him the idea of potentially creating a town administrator position. Previously, Rosenthal thought he would have to charge a Charter Revision Commission with looking at a town manager position.

While very similar, a town administrator is a position that is in addition to and complements a first selectman, while a town manager would largely replace a first selectman’s position — or at least a significant amount of a first selectman’s duties — and would locally require a change to the Town Charter.

Llodra opposed the idea of a town manager because she felt that the residents of Newtown place value on the ability to elect its chief executive officer, and taking away that ability by hiring a professional manager was “too big an ask.”

“I think the town could be well served with professional management, but that model is not right for the community at this time,” said Llodra.

Llodra said that it was important to “know who Newtown is,” and it’s a community that “favors stability,” so that there should be an “inclination to be incremental in decision-making.” She said that a town manager would be a “big cultural shift.”

“If we were to eliminate an elected leader, we’d need to show evidence of the urgency around there needing to be that big of a change,” said Llodra.

Crick Owen felt the community would be resistant to a large change, pointing toward the failed referendum to eliminate the Board of Finance last year.

“We all had our opinions, but the town said ‘no,’” said Crick Owen.

Crick Owen also noted that the town of Monroe went back and forth before finally settling on a style of government, and it’s “a lot of work to do that.”

“I believe in smaller steps,” said Crick Owen. “Wilton is a good example; they added a town administrator.”

Brimmer noted that the workgroup was “split down the middle,” and while he was not against a town administrator, he believed that would be “postponing the inevitable.”

“If we make a move, we should move right away to professional management,” said Brimmer.

Simpson said that in listening to the various interviews, he was “most impressed” by the town manager form of government, and felt that if the town went through the expense of an executive search, it “shouldn’t be just for a town administrator.”

“The town needs a town manager form of government,” said Simpson. “I think what we learned is that the town manager is a very appealing solution for the town.”

Simpson also noted that in the next few years, the town could lose “two, if not four pivotal department heads” to retirement, and he would “like to see a more professional leader at the executive level before then.”

Simpson was concerned that by not going straight to a town manager, it would be “perpetuating” the notion that the town is resistant to change by saying “a town manager is great, but it will never happen.” In the end, Simpson said he was fine with making incremental change, but he was “uncomfortable not highlighting the eventual goal is town manager.”

In the end, it was Llodra’s steadfast opposition to the idea of the town manager that forced the group to seek compromise. She also initially opposed the idea of making a secondary recommendation about continuing evaluation of a town manager, but eventually agreed to it.

With the town administrator as its immediate recommendation and continued evaluation if a town manager might be needed in the future, the workgroup members all seemed satisfied and unanimously approved the recommendation.

“I think it’s a good compromise,” said Simpson.

“I can compromise,” said Llodra. “It’s rare but I can.”

“I’m comfortable with that,” said Crick Owen. “It’s a good recommendation.”

The workgroup will continue its work on the language of its final recommendation, as well as presenting the logic behind their decision, at meetings on August 15 and September 5, before presenting its final recommendation at the Board of Selectmen meeting on September 18.

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.