NORWICH — Months of uncertainty and closed-door negotiations regarding the fate of Norwich’s town manager appear to be ending after Herb Durfee was offered a 15-month contract this week.
Selectboard Chairwoman Claudette Brochu made the announcement Wednesday night after a nearly hourlong executive session.
The contract, which would take effect May 1, comes with a job performance improvement plan, Brochu said in a CATV recording of the meeting.
She also was authorized by the five-member board to sign the contract proposal if Durfee accepts its terms before leaving for vacation next week.
Durfee said Thursday morning that he hadn’t fully read the agreement, saying it appeared in his inbox around 11:30 the night before.
“All five of them are looking to work with me on an improvement plan,” he said, adding that there’s hope of inking a longer-term contract in the future.
Messages inquiring whether Durfee intends to sign the deal were not returned later on Thursday.
At the Selectboard meeting on Wednesday evening, he thanked the panel, “especially those that may not necessarily agree” with him staying on.
“Much appreciated,” Durfee said after Brochu’s announcement.
If accepted, the contract will take effect after the town manager’s current agreement ends April 30, Selectboard Vice Chairman Roger Arnold said Thursday.
The 15-month proposal is intended to allow for four quarterly reviews, Arnold said.
“As a board, we are committed to providing a more symbiotic back and forth to evaluate performance,” he said. “We want to make sure we are doing our job in overseeing his performance and having it be a two-way conversation.”
Arnold declined to disclose terms of the proposed contract — including salary and benefits — saying those aren’t public documents until the deal is signed.
“I can tell you the contract came with a performance improvement plan and, while that is a confidential document, I can let you know that it provided some targeted areas of improvement,” he said.
Durfee made $89,780 last year, under his initial three-year contract.
He had asked for a two-year agreement that includes a salary increase, five additional vacation days and an allowance to attend the International City/County Management Association’s annual conference in Toronto.
He also requested the inclusion of a “for-cause” section in the contract, which would prevent his firing for reasons other than “substantial shortcoming detrimental” to the town’s interests.
Durfee’s position was threatened in late January when the Selectboard voted, 3-2, against entering talks “regarding a new contract.”
He said at the time that the board was disappointed collective bargaining talks hadn’t progressed faster, wanted him to be better organized and issue more regular reports.
Durfee also hired — and later fired — former Finance Director Donna Flies, who fell prey to a cyber scam shortly after starting the job that resulted in the loss of nearly $250,000 in taxpayers’ money. Most of the funds were later recouped.
At the time, board members Mary Layton and Roger Arnold supported opening contract talks while then-Selectboard Chairman John Pepper, Brochu and board member John Langhus were opposed.
Pepper opted not to seek reelection on March 3 and was replaced on the board by Rob Gere.
After news of the decision led to letters of protests from several residents, the Selectboard changed its mind and voted, 3-2, in February to reconsider contract talks.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.
Correction
In discussing a new contract offered to Norwich Town Manager Herb Durfee, Selectboard member Roger Arnold said, “We want to make sure we are doing our job in overseeing his performance and having it be a two-way conversation.” An earlier version of this story misquoted Arnold.