Morristown Hires Administrator

by Amy Kolb Noyes

MORRISTOWN - Francis "Tag" Taginski will be Morristown's next town
administrator. Taginski was offered, and accepted, the job at the
Morristown Selectboard meeting Monday evening, December 16. Selectman
Shaun Bryer, who headed up the search committee for a new town
administrator, said Taginski has accepted the board's terms and will be
signing a contract next Monday.
The selectboard began its search for a new town administrator after Paul
McGinley announced he would retire at the end of the year. Bryer said
Taginski will be brought on board for the last week of December, so the
two can work together for a week of transition.
Taginski was the board's top choice out of a field of over 25
candidates. Bryer said the deciding factor was Taginski's prior
municipal experience. His last job was as town manager of Williamstown.
"The selectboard felt that we had a number of very qualified
candidates," said Bryer. He added many candidates had strong
administrative experience, but had not worked for a municipality.
"We felt like there was too great of a risk in hiring someone who would
have more of a learning curve, Bryer explained.
He added of Taginski, "His learning curve will simply be getting to know
our community, not learning how to be a town administrator."
Taginski resides in Burlington. He has worked as a town manager in
Williamstown and Colchester, as business manager of the Barre City
Supervisory School District, as director of business operations for the
Vermont State Colleges and as an associate planner for the Chittenden
Regional Planning Commission. In the private sector, Taginski has been a
business manager, a realtor, a technology consultant/account executive
and an operations manager.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Michael's College in 1972
and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Vermont in
1996. He will start work full-time in Morrisville on Monday, December 27.