Thursday marked Cynthia “Cindy” Starkweather’s final day as town administrator in Chichester, leaving the town in a familiar position without its head municipal employee.
Her resignation came at a meeting on Tuesday evening.
“We haven’t discussed it yet. It was at the end of the meeting,” said Selectman Jeremy Letendre.
The town “is functioning as it was yesterday,” he added.
The Board of Selectmen will need to begin searching for someone to take over for Starkweather, who is the third town administrator to leave in the last year and a half.
“She’s resigning amicably, trying to prioritize her family and her life… She’s been a huge asset to this town,” the board stated in a written record of the meeting.
Starkweather, who began in the role last fall, resigned once before in January following a heated selectmen’s meeting. She returned after 10 days following a public apology from Selectmen Matt Stolnis to the town after he had raised his voice at the previous meeting.
The town has experienced significant turnover in its municipal office, beginning with the resignation of longtime town administrator Jodi Pinard in December 2024.
Pinard was rehired and given a $31,000 raise in February 2025. She stayed in the role until July, when the board offered her a new, lower salary, which she declined. Interim town administrator Charles Smith assumed the position in July and left the town a month later. Starkweather joined town hall in November.
A resident of Chichester herself, she will “continue assisting part-time and intends to volunteer on committees,” according to the meeting minutes.
