Atkinson looking to replace three departing employees

By James Niedzinski Eagle-Tribune
ATKINSON — Three town employees are leaving their posts, and town officials already want to get a head start on finding replacements.
The part-time planning and zoning administrator, Susan Killam, is set to retire next year, Selectman Philip Consentino said.
"We're going to have major turnovers within the town," he said.
Killam, makes about $16,000 annually, depending on how many hours she works, according to bookkeeper Sandra LaVallee.
Officials will be taking a look at the position and possibly give the new planning administrator more duties, Selectmen Chairman William Baldwin said.
"We're still in the process of planning for that position," he said.
The incoming planning administrator will not be a full-time employee, Baldwin said.
She plans to retire around June of next year, he said.
Besides Killam, LaVallee, herself, is stepping down and Town Administrator Bill Innes is talking about retirement in the next two years.
Finding someone to fill Killam's shoes will be tough, Consentino said, because she has also been the chairwoman of the Planning Board for years.
"That's going to be a tough job to fill her position," he said.
Killam could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but she previously said she works about 15 hours a week.  The planning office is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday.
Before Killam took over the post about four or five years ago, LaVallee said, the planning and zoning administrator worked full time.
While LaVallee is not retiring, she too is leaving her post; LaVallee said she is set to leave the town at the end of the month.
"It's been a great job, I've enjoyed it totally," she said Wednesday.
LaVallee has no specific plans after leaving the town, but she said a new job is a possibility.
She declined to disclose her age. LaVallee said she earns about $57,000 annually.
She has been at the job for 27 years.
"It's just time to move on, that's all," she said.
The assistant bookkeeper, Kat Macomber, is set to take the reins.
"She's certainly a very capable lady," LaVallee said of her successor.
About three people were interested in the job, Baldwin said, and here is a possibility the town will seek a replacement assistant bookkeeper.
Another employee set to leave is Town Administrator Bill Innes.
He has not set an official date yet, but he said the earliest he plans to retire is two years from now.
But Consentino said he wants to get a jump on finding a replacement to make sure there is a smooth transition.
"I want it all prepared," he said.  "I want the person on board to work with (employees) for at least a month."
When Innes was hired at the end of 2011, there was a 4-month gap between town administrators.
Selectmen hope to have a new town administrator "well in advance before (Innes) departs," Baldwin said.
Officials will discuss filling the other two positions next year, Consentino said.
Between the three, the town is losing valuable employees, Baldwin said.
"It will be a great loss to the community, because we are losing a vast amount of experience," he said.
Innes became the town administrator in 2012.
His annual salary is about $76,000 LaVallee said.
His reason for retirement is simple.
 "I'm old," the 66-year-old Atkinson resident said.
"He's done a fantastic job," Consentino said about Innes.
If he retires at the end of 2016, Innes will be one of the longer-serving town administrators.
The last town administrator, Philip Smith, left in 2011 after less than two years on the job.
Before Smith, the town went seven months without an administrator when Steven Angelo quit as administrator after five months.
Before him was interim administrator Craig Kleman, who worked on the job for about four months. Russell McCallister worked as the town administrator for about three and a half years before quitting in 2008.
Because Innes' retirement is not for another two years, it is too early to start reminiscing, he said.
"Memories are still being built," he said.