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SPENCER – The Board of Selectmen voted 3-2 to renew the contract of Town Administrator Jeff Bridges.
Selectmen Jonathan Viner and Gary Woodbury voted in opposition, with Ralph Hicks, John Howard and Jared Grigg in favor.
Bridges received an average score of 3.38 out of a possible 4.0 on evaluations done by the board.
The pact runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30,2028 or “In reality, it’s a two-and-change year contract,” Bridges noted. That’s because the agreement was backdated to the expiration date of his previous contract, June 30,2025.
Bridges has been working on a one-year extension.
His original contract had a requirement that Selectmen decide on his continued employment eight months before its expiration (which would be the end of October last year). His contract would automatically renew for one year if no decision was made.
Bridges succeeded former Town Administrator Thomas Gregory in December 2021 and was unanimously given a three-and-a-half-year agreement at that time.
Selectman Ralph Hicks said it should be the current board members that decide, not newcomers after the annual election this spring.
Incoming selectmen may have their opinions, Hick said, but you gain a different perspective while serving on the board.
“We set his goals, which he has met,” Hicks said. “We’re the ones who know what he’s done. We know that he goes to practically every single board meeting in this town, from A to Z. We know that he works weekends frequently and puts in the effort.”
Hicks said the contract’s salary increase is comparable to what other town employees received. He said it was “very minimal” and that Bridges gets paid a lot less than other area town administrators.
According to LinkedIn, prior to his position in Spencer, Bridges was town administrator in Sturbridge from April 2019 to December 2021.
Before that, he served as interim city manager in Seward, Alaska; town manager in Wethersfield, Connecticut for nearly nine years; vice president of municipal finance for Dewaay Capital Management in Wichita, Kansas; city administrator in Andover, Kansas; and a budget analyst for the state of Kansas.
Selectmen also voted on contract renewals for Police Lt. Norman Hodgerney and Police Chief Michael Befford.
Viner voted in opposition to the lieutenant’s contract based on language it contains obligating the town to pay severance for one-year if the employee becomes disabled off the job.
“I’ve voiced my concerns before,” Viner said. “I find it unreasonable…especially when disability insurance covers that circumstance.”
The vote was 4-1.
Regarding Befford’s contract, Woodbury joined Viner’s opposition (vote of 3-2) for that same language, although in this case, it stipulates it is for six months.
Woodbury said he realized that provision has been in the contracts “for a long time,” but feels it is something the board should look at in the future.
He told the police chief his “no” vote was “only for that reason.”
