Hanson resigns as town manager

Wade Hanson
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — It is back to drawing board for the Houlton Town Council in its quest to find the next town manager.
    Wade Hanson, who was hired for the position Aug. 13, resigned Monday evening before ever officially starting on the job. Hanson was slated to take over as town manager on Sept. 10.
    On Tuesday afternoon, Hanson told the Houlton Pioneer Times that the timing “just wasn’t right” for him to take the town manager’s job.
    The council called a special meeting for Tuesday evening to gather behind closed doors to review resumes from the other candidates who had applied for the position. The town has conducted two rounds of advertising for the position. The first round occurred immediately after Doug Hazlett’s resignation in March. A total of 31 individuals applied in that round, but no suitable candidate was found so the council reopened the search. On the second round, 33 individuals applied.
    Cathy O’Leary, the assistant town manager/clerk, will continue as the interim manager until a replacement is found.
    On Aug. 13, Hanson along with several members of his family attended the council meeting in which he was formally hired. He did not attend Monday night’s meeting, but did send an e-mail letter addressing the matter.
    Council Chairman Paul Cleary read the letter to fellow councilors. In that letter Hanson asked the council to “rescind my application of employment for the town manager of Houlton.”
    “I sincerely thank you for your consideration and time, but I am unable to fulfill this position at this time,” Hanson wrote.
    Cleary said he was disappointed by the decision. He spoke several times with Hanson and “some things have come up that he (Hanson) needs to move forward on.” Cleary added Hanson did express an interest in being considered for the position at some time in the future, should there be an opening.
    Hanson started out with town as its civic center director in 2000. He held that post for just six months before taking over as the town’s code enforcement officer. He held that post for about eight years before moving into the role of economic and community development director at the request of then town manager Hazlett.
    He resigned from his town position last September to take a similar post as the economic development director for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. It was undetermined by presstime if Hanson would remain in his position with the Maliseets.
    In order for Hanson to be hired, the council had to make a change to its nepotism policy, which prevented a person who had a supervisory role over a family member from being hired. Hanson’s mother, Nedra Hanson, has served as the town’s treasurer for many years. All department heads fall under the supervision of the town manager.
    That change in the personnel policy allowed for family members to be hired with specific consent of the town council. That policy change will continue, despite Hanson withdrawing from the town manager position.
    At least one resident felt the policy should not be changed. Carl Lord Jr. spoke against the move, adding that Hanson “probably did the right thing” by withdrawing from the position.
    “Some day in the future Wade is going to be a good town manager,” Lord said. “The way this policy sets up, it is going to fail anybody who gets in that position. I hope you vote this (policy) down.”
    Councilor John White said he was originally “on the fence” about the policy change, but after giving it serious consideration he was now in favor of it.
    “It gives us the consent to do it and we can all just use our common sense on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
    Councilor Mike Jenkins agreed.
    “These policies are good in large communities, but in smaller ones like Houlton, you are bound to have overlap,” he said. “I think we have to use our discretion on this policy. The choice of Wade to fill that position was one the council took very seriously. We were open about the whole process.”
    Jenkins added he hoped Hanson didn’t withdraw from the position due to any perceived “public controversy.”
    Ultimately, the council unanimously agreed to move forward with its revision to its personnel policy.