Show me the money Interim administrator leaves Atkinson

From the Eagle Tribune:

Show me the money Interim administrator leaves Atkinson for better paying Plaistow position
By Meghan Carey
Staff writer

Atkinson interim Town Administrator Craig Kleman is leaving for the same job in Plaistow.

The contract was finalized last week, but Kleman asked Plaistow officials to keep it quiet until he could meet with Atkinson selectmen. He confirmed yesterday that he accepted the interim job in Plaistow and plans to start on July 14.

Until then, he'll stay at Atkinson Town Hall.

It's another similarity for two towns that have been searching for a town administrator and town manager for months. In this leg of the search, the town that pays more won.

Plaistow Selectman Larry Gil said they plan to pay Kleman $900 a week. That's $200 a week more than Atkinson pays him.

Plaistow also moved to promise Kleman a longer-term contract than Atkinson had.

Atkinson selectmen and Kleman verbally agreed he would extend his interim contract for another 30 days, but the deal was never inked. They were planning to sign the document last night. Selectman Fred Childs said earlier that Atkinson planned to offer Kleman a permanent job, but that hadn't happened yet.

Kleman's contract with Plaistow extends through the end of October, Gil said.

"That's when we anticipate, we think, we may have another town manager in," he said. "But we wanted to make sure, in case there wasn't an overlap, that we would have somebody on board for budget preparation."

Jason Hoch, Plaistow's former town manager and interim administrator, was going to stay until someone new started, but couldn't reach an agreement with the selectmen. His last day was Saturday.

When Kleman applied for the interim job in Atkinson in April, he also was a candidate for the permanent job. Yesterday, he said he plans to do the same in Plaistow.

"I haven't applied yet, but that is my intention," Kleman said of applying for the permanent job in Plaistow.

The application deadline for the permanent post is July 7.

Plaistow is looking for a town manager, not a town administrator. Plaistow is a larger community with a larger budget, and the salary offered reflects that. Plaistow advertised an annual salary between $84,000 and $95,000. Atkinson didn't advertise a pay range, but paid its last town administrator about $58,000.

Kleman, 51, has town administrator experience — interim and permanent — in Seabrook, Epping and Merrimack, Mass.

Plaistow selectmen restarted their search for a town manager after their first choice from the first round didn't accept their offer. Selectmen said none of the other candidates had town administrator or manager experience, and they wanted to expand the pool.

Atkinson selectmen met in nonpublic session last night to decide what to do. Kleman was one of three finalists for the town administrator job in Atkinson. The position has been vacant since February when Russell McAllister left for a local government job in Iraq.

Tale of two towns

Fact%Atkinson%Plaistow

Interim pay%$700 a week%$900 a week

Permanent pay%$58,000*%$84,000 to $95,000

Population%6,601%7,705

Town budget%$4 million%$7.5 million