PHILLIPSTON – At its meeting on Oct. 16, the Selectboard accepted the resignation of Chief Administrative Officer Melanie Jackson, who will officially step down on Nov. 1.

Jackson began working in Phillipston as town treasurer. After the departure of previous Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Flynn in 2020, the title was changed to administrative assistant and Jackson assumed the role. Following her resignation, Jackson will be remain as the town’s treasurer, which is a part-time position.

“I volunteered to help in the Selectmen’s office and simply never left,” said Jackson. “At that time, the position was titled ‘administrative assistant’, which would indicate there was someone higher up doing the heavier lifting, which is not the case.”

At the Annual Town Meeting in May of this year, and again at Special Town Meeting in June, residents voted on an article to increase the top annual salary for the administrative assistant’s job from $78,000 to $93,000. While town officials, including the Selectboard and Finance Committee, recommended the increase, the proposal was defeated. Jackson told the Athol Daily News that the vote “clarified that some folks clearly do not understand what this position entails.”

Following the vote, Jackson tendered her resignation in July but then agreed to stay “to see how things go.” The Selectboard subsequently voted to change the title back to chief administrative officer, but Jackson’s pay would remain the same.

“The board has been asked in the past to make this a salaried position and to increase the pay to be commensurate with the required duties,” Jackson explained. “In addition to the myriad daily duties that keep the town running…there often are a number of night meetings to attend each month. This is all expected to be done within the 36-hour-a-week hourly wage determined by Town Meeting vote; it simply is neither feasible nor possible without breaking standard labor law.”

The top pay for the position calculates to just over $41 an hour.

“One reason chief administrative officers, town coordinators, town managers, town administrators – whatever title you want to give them – are paid well is because they give up much of their daily lives to serve the town they work for, lending their knowledge and expertise to deal with the very real and tangible issues that municipalities and their residents face,” she continued. “It is our duty and it’s an honor to do so.”

Board Chair Bernie Malouin said he had spoken with Tom McEnany, the town’s attorney, who told him that retired administrators, chief administrative officers or managers from other communities may be interested in taking on Jackson’s role on an interim basis.

“I would think they might be interested in a small town,” board member Gerhard Fandreyer said, “because a small town is going to have less of a workload – much lighter than a city or large town.”

While the board decided to have Jackson advertise the vacancy in hopes of finding someone interested in taking the job on an interim basis, it has not yet been done, as the job description has not been settled on. It’s hoped final wording can be approved by the board at its meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Jackson said it has been her honor to serve the town and credited her coworkers for providing “top-of-the-line” service to residents.

“I could not have asked for a better group to work with,” she said. “The Board of Selectmen and I have made some great strides in creating much-needed policies, offering MART services to residents, creating budget transparency and putting controls in place to keep the town running smoothly.

“I have decided it is time to move on to a new aspect of municipal government, allowing someone else to step in as the chief administrative officer here and hopefully continue to make effective change,” she added.

At their meeting on Oct. 16, all members of the Selectboard said they were sorry to see Jackson vacate the chief administrative officer’s post.

“We wish her well in all her future endeavors,” said board member Nicole Gough. “We are grateful for all she has done for our town and we look forward to continuing working with her as town treasurer.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.