Cynthia Starkweather began as Chichester’s new town administrator last week, filling a position left vacant in the months since interim town administrator Charles Smith left for a different role at the end of August.
Starkweather will be paid a salary of $89,000 a year. Her compensation is comparable to Smith’s salary and that of previous town administrator Jodi Pinard, prior to the $31,000 raise Pinard received upon returning to the town in February after resigning in December.
At a recent selectmen’s meeting, Starkweather told residents that she’s “very pleased to be here.”
“Moving forward, I really hope we just have a lot of open communication and collaboration, and please don’t hesitate to stop in,” Starkweather said.
While she’s catching up to speed in her new role, the town administrator’s window at town hall remains temporarily closed, but Starkweather doesn’t want this to hamper any channels of communication between her and the residents.
“That window will be open soon,” Starkweather said. “That doesn’t mean we’re closed. So don’t hesitate to stop in, or pick up the phone, call.”
Starkweather’s hiring marks a new chapter for Chichester, which has seen months of turnover, beginning when Pinard resigned in December after 11 years in the role. She rejoined the town with a $31,000 pay increase and remained town administrator until July, at which point the board offered her a new salary, lower than her current one, which she declined. Smith came on in July and left the town a month later.
Treasurer Andrea Deachman has been instrumental in keeping town hall operations in the interim. At a Board meeting on Oct. 21, the selectmen motioned to increase Deachman’s hours and pay.
While Deachman is in the process of transferring payroll responsibilities to Starkweather, she’ll continue handling other town administrative tasks.
“I think this a good push forward,” Board of Selectmen Chair Richard Bouchard said at the Oct. 21 meeting. “I’m very confident in the decisions we’ve made, including with Andrea helping out. Andrea’s been doing an incredible job, and obviously everyone gives her thanks and stuff.”