Orleans has a hiring task it hasn't tackled in 26 years. First steps are underway.

ORLEANS — With the new year, officials in Orleans face a task they haven't undertaken in 26 years: finding a new town administrator.

The search is on after Town Administrator John Kelly's exit from the job at the end of December. He's officially retiring in March, but with accrued sick days and time off, his duties are now in the hands of an interim manager.

"We have a search committee, and we have a consultant doing his due diligence and working with the committee," said Select Board Chair Andrea Shaw Reed on Tuesday. "They're working the process."

In November, the board voted to hire Charles Sumner temporarily while the search for a new administrator is conducted. Sumner, who served as Brewster's town administrator from 1986 until his retirement in 2015, has served interim stints in Wellfleet for 13 months and Provincetown for eight months. He assisted both towns as they, too, searched for new administrators.

During the Town Administrator Search Committee's organizational meeting on Jan. 12, Sumner told the members his interim contract allows him to help out with the search. He said he stands ready to assist in "this important process" in "any way, shape and form" they see fit.

The Select Board has also hired Groux-White Consulting, LLC to help officials identify and screen candidates. The Lexington-based consulting firm has successfully helped with executive searches in more than 25 communities, including Dennis, Harwich, Provincetown, Wellfleet and Yarmouth.

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In Orleans, the search committee includes Michael Gradone, Ginny Farber, Alan McClennen, Sims McGrath Jr., Michael McNamara, Susan Meisinger, and Ben Zehnder, as well as Finance Committee Chairman Nicholas Athanassiou as an ex officio member. During their first meeting on Jan. 12, the members elected Gradone as chairman, Meisinger as vice chairwoman and Zehnder as clerk.

Richard White, of Groux-White Consulting and a former long-time town manager himself, told members he's started interviews with town staff and other "key stakeholders," a preliminary step aimed at getting an idea about the qualities people would like to see in an administrator.

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Finding a candidate who is a 'good fit' for Orleans is important

"We approach searches a little differently in that we believe it's fairly easy to find someone with technical competence, but much harder to find someone with technical competence, experience and is a good fit," White told the panel.

One way the consulting firm determines whether a candidate is a good fit or not, and one to recommend for review by the search committee, is "to take the time to interview staff," as well as community leaders, he said. He explained he creates summaries of what he hears from both groups, which are then passed along to search committee and Select Board members.

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White said he also uses the feedback as a way of vetting applicants, and getting a sense for "who are the strongest candidates for Orleans."

Smaller pool of applicants to draw on presents challenge

Both White and Sumner said finding qualified town managers can be challenging since the pool of candidates is smaller than it was years ago. In the past, White said, he's been part of searches that have drawn 100 or more applicants. These days, he said, he would be happy to attract 30 to 40 candidates, and it would be considered a success to narrow it to 12. That said, both men believe Orleans has much to offer potential candidates and they are optimistic, especially since a proposed charter amendment would strengthen the post from town administrator to town manager.

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"Orleans is going to be a terribly attractive community to a lot of managers," Sumner told search committee members. "Financially you're in good shape, and you've had longevity in your previous manager and that's a good indicator to candidates that the community embraces an administrator. So you have a lot going for you."

White said the town is still "a little ways away" from officially advertising the job, but once that happens, "it'll all come together really quickly."

Ultimately, the Select Board will choose the next administrator from among candidates recommended by the search committee. As for when that will happen, Reed said, "I hope that we've got an offer to someone by April."

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: With a retirement after 26 years, Orleans looks for town administrator