By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Princeton will look throughout the region for candidates to succeed Robert W. Bruschi as the next municipal administrator, the highest-ranking civilian employee in municipal government.
Mr. Bruschi is retiring after a long career in government, so officials want to have someone in place before the end of the year to enable some transition time between him and his successor. His are the biggest shoes the town will have to fill in year two of the merger, with officials having already hired a new police chief and filled other senior-level posts.
The job search is expected to begin in a month or two, Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller said Wednesday. She said it would be done on a “regional basis,” although officials still have to iron details about where they plan to advertise the job and how to conduct interviews of candidates.
The town is being helped by a consultant, retired municipal administrator Reagan Burkholder. At the moment, that work includes crafting a job description for the qualities that are most important, Mayor Liz Lempert said Wednesday.
Current assistant administrator Kathryn Monzo has widely been seen as the heir apparent to Mr. Bruschi. Officials have said she is the front-runner and could handle the responsibilities of managing the daily affairs of government in what is seen as a CEO role.
Yet they explained their decision to do a broad search by saying they want to make sure they are getting the right person.
”It’s not a knock against her,” said Councilwoman Jo S. Butler on Wednesday.
Council President Bernard P. Miller said Wednesday that officials want to “throw a wider net.” He called Ms. Monzo an “outstanding internal candidate” for the job, one that she has expressed interest in.
Mayor Lempert, however, has avoided publicly anointing Ms. Monzo as the next administrator the way the town did with police Chief Nicholas K Sutter. “We’re not saying that at this point,” Mayor Lempert told reporters in April.
This week, she also avoided answering whether anyone has applied for the job.
