Callahan still in place for now, despite new position

MILLVILLE – In her first public remarks to her Millville bosses since accepting a new job as town manager in Oxford, Town Administrator Jennifer M. Callahan told the selectmen last week that she has no plans to step down yet and is committed to working for a transition that is as smooth and efficient as possible. Callahan, one of three finalists for the Oxford position, was formally offered the job by the Oxford selectmen following her interview with that board on July 31. Callahan accepted the job offer, but said an employment agreement has not yet been negotiated and therefore a start date has not been determined. The Oxford selectmen have scheduled a contract negotiation session with Callahan on Aug. 21. “I just want to be able to tell this board unequivocally that at this point in time it’s still only an offer,” Callahan told the selectmen at a meeting last week. “I’m going through the process and I will be working closely with this board as I continue under my current employment agreement.” “I’ve made it quite clear to everyone that this is a transition,” she said. “There’s been a lot of speculation and some people have me exiting on Sept. 1. That’s not true. First, that’s not professional. And

second, that’s not me. As we go forward, and as soon as I have more confirmation, we will have more dialogue on how we can transition.” “I want to ensure that the town continues to operate smoothly,” Callahan told the board. “We have such a a great staff here and I’m confident that the work we’re doing currently will continue.” Oxford has a population of about 13,709 and is located in south central Massachusetts, bordered by Dudley and Charlton on the west, Leicester and Auburn on the north, Millbury and Sutton on the east, and Douglas and Webster on the south. Oxford is about 14 miles south of Worcester. Callahan, Millville’s first-ever town administrator, is making $72,000 a year in Millville. The salary range for the town manager position in Oxford was advertised between $115,000 and $135,000. Callahan was appointed in June 2016 as Millville’s first professional town administrator after town voters agreed to create the $70,000-a-year position. For years before that, the town had an executive secretary that assisted the Board of Selectmen.

The selectmen had been mulling the establishment of a town administrator position for the past few years, and it was one of the main recommendations in a financial management review drafted by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services. Callahan, 53, served on Sutton’s long range planning committee, school committee, and board of selectmen. From 2003 to 2011 she represented the 18th Worcester district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. She was defeated in the Nov. 2, 2010, general election. While serving in the House, Callahan was also an assistant professor in the graduate school of nursing at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.