Millville tabs interim town administrator

MILLVILLE — The former longtime town administrator for the Town of Dover has been named Millville’s interim town administrator.

David Ramsay, of Attleboro, who recently retired after more than 20 years as Dover’s administrator, will work as a rsub contractor in Millville three days a week at $80 per hour for the next two months or until such time as the town ahires a permanent administrator.

Ramsay was one of three candidates interviewed Thursday by Selectmen Thomas Houle and Jennifer Dean-Wind, who recommended Ramsay’s appointment to the full board at a workshop session later that night. The vote to appoint Ramsey was 3 to 1 with Houle, DeanWing and Selectwoman Erica Blake apfproving the appointment and Selectman Joseph Rapoza cast the dissenting vote. Rapoza abstained saying he wanted a dcandidate who was local. Selectman Andrew Alward did not attend the workshop.

Dean-Wing said Ramsay brings and attitude and set of skills that she believes will help the town, which is facing serious financial challenges.

“He is taking this as a challenge and has a sincere desire to help the town,” she said.

Houle said Ramsay, who was also a former administrator for the Town of Douglas, is familiar with regional school districts. Like the Blackstone-Millville Regional High School, the Dover-Sherborn High School is a regional public high school in the town of Dover, serving students from the towns of Dover and Sherborn.

Ramsey retired in December. During his tenure, he helped create the town’s website and establish the town’s information technology department, as well as created the position of assistant town administrator. He also oversaw the renovation of several town buildings, including the Public Safety Building.

Ramsay also serves on several boards and committees in his hometown of Attleboro.

Meanwhile, the Millville Town Administrator Search Committee will begin vetting applicants next month with a goal of presenting three to five finalists to the Board of Selectmen on April 2. The position has been advertised and that the committee has received more than seven applications since Jan. 20.

The plan is for the committee to review applicants after the application deadline on March 1 and then interview upwards of five candidates, which will be presented to the selectmen at their meeting on April 2. The selectmen will then conduct their own interviews before choosing a candidate.

Former Town Administrator Jennifer M. Callahan resigned in September to take a job as town manager in Oxford, Mass. 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.