Board Will Pursue Firm For Town Administrator Search

 HARWICH – The select board has agreed to interview three firms to assist in searching for a new town administrator.
 Select board member Peter Piekarski said he would first like to have the firms come before the board to provide an outline of their process. He said firms he talked with during the finance director search said they could do so. 
 Piekarski said he has no idea what such a search would cost. Responses from the firms would help him in determining whether the town should also establish a search committee and whether the board should move forward with appointing an acting town administrator, he said.  
 Discussions with town counsel indicate it could take eight months to land a new town administrator. Piekarski said he would like to hear a timeline from the firms, adding the timeframe could take longer.
 Current Town Administrator Joseph Powers’ tenure ends June 30.
At the request of select board member Donald Howell, the board agreed not to work with the Collins Center, a government entity associated with the University of Massachusetts in Boston. Howell said he wants to “go outside the box” for the search. The town keeps doing searches the same way, but expects a different result, he said.
Assistant town Administrator Meggan Eldredge said the town would not need to pursue a request for proposals if the Collins Center was tapped because it is a state government agency and could be engaged through an intermunicipal agreement.
 Select Board Chair Jeffrey Handler said the board would require a request for proposals from private search firms. 
Eldredge said it would take four to six weeks through the procurement process to select a search firm and another week to agree on a contract. 
The board withheld a decision on the appointment of an acting town administrator and placed the decision on establishing a town search committee on the backburner until the search firms can be consulted.