WOOLWICH

Woolwich residents heading to the town office will see new faces this month as two longtime employees retire, and two fresh faces join the team.

Town Administrator Lynette Eastman worked for the town for 21 years and left at the end of June. Town Clerk Janice Bradford worked for the town for six years and is leaving this month. Both decided independently that it was the right time to retire.

Tax Collector Susan Cloutier has since been promoted to town administrator, a job that she started officially July 1, just shy of a year since she was first hired as the tax collector.

“When I interviewed (for the tax collector position), Lynette had been saying, ‘Well, I’ve been telling them for three years that June 30 is my last day.’ I thought what she meant was every June she was saying, ‘I’m getting done. I’m retiring. I’m tired.’ So I thought, well, y’know she’s going to stay around — but she meant it,” recalled Cloutier.

Before coming to Woolwich, Cloutier had worked for 15 years combined as a dispatcher for Sagadahoc and Cumberland counties.

“It was incredibly stressful, and a lot of hours,” said Cloutier. “There were a lot of 60-80-hour weeks. And getting older, I just needed a change.”

She took up a position in collections at DHHS briefly, before the Woolwich tax collector position opened up. Cloutier’s mother was from Woolwich, and she decided to apply.

“I’d been doing child support collections for two years, so I thought, well, if I can do collections, I can be tax collector,” she said.

She was hired and began working July 5 of last year. When the time came for Eastman to retire, Cloutier decided that it was time to step up.

“I want to stay here, and I was the senior person in the office even though I’d only been here a year,” said Cloutier. “So I figured I might as well step up and take the responsibility of being the supervisor, basically.

“The townspeople have been really great in accepting that I’m new and things will change a little bit because of that,” she added.

Not only has Cloutier stepped into a new role as town administer, she’s also losing the two most experienced employees in the small office, and taking on two new ones.

“It was frightening, but it’s been really good,” said Cloutier of the staff changes.

Katie Johnston has been on the job for a couple weeks now, officially taking over as tax collector for the town on July 17. Originally from Gorham, Johnston has worked for a number of municipalities in Maine and Massachusetts, mostly as an assistant treasurer before coming back to Maine and joining the Woolwich team.

“I missed Maine. I missed my family and friends … and I missed the coast,” said Johnston.

She said it’s been quite a change coming to the town of just over 3,000 residents after working in larger municipalities like Salem and Portland.

“It’s different, obviously, (coming) from large municipalities. I’m used to 40-65,000 people,” said Johnston. “But that’s kind of what I wanted. I wanted a break from (being) busy, hectic, working all the time.

“It’s been really good so far,” she added. “The people are so nice. That’s the thing that’s been really nice.”

That’s a sentiment the whole office shares.

“Everyone here is so darn nice,” said Cloutier. “I was raised in Topsham — I still live in Topsham — and the people are friendly enough, but here you get to know people. I wondered how Lynette and Janice knew everyone’s name when they came in the door, but I’ve learned, in the past year, I know the people.”

‘Very welcoming’

“The people here are very welcoming to everyone,” said Bradford. “They’re willing to do the work to keep the taxes down if they can, to make things fun and more interesting. I’ve just really enjoyed working here, and I’m going to miss it.”

Before coming to Woolwich, Bradford mostly worked in the banking industry, before taking a part-time position as an assistant clerk in Whitefield.

Bradford was first hired by the town in 2011 as a part-time assistant, and then later promoted to the position of deputy clerk/deputy tax collector. When those duties were split in 2013, Bradford became town clerk.

She’ll be replaced by Freeport Deputy Town Clerk Mary Howe, who starts Thursday.

“I’m really going to miss Janice,” said Cloutier, noting Bradford’s experience. “I’m not a town clerk. I have been a tax collector, so I have the strength to back Katie up really well, but I’ve never been a town clerk — I was a deputy. So I’m going to miss that, but having her here the last month has been incredibly helpful.”

In retirement, Bradford said she hopes to take some well-earned vacations and spend more time gardening and canning. Despite her departure, Woolwich residents will likely see Bradford again. Both Eastman and Bradford will continue to fill in at the town office on occasion.

“Hopefully, they don’t ask me too soon,” joked Bradford.

nstrout@timesrecord.com