WINDHAM — Interim Town Manager Barry Tibbetts will remain in his position through June 30, rather than leaving in March as originally planned.

Tibbetts

The Town Council unanimously voted Tuesday to extend his contract.

In an interview Wednesday, Town Council Chairman Jarrod Maxfield said Tibbetts will begin the town’s annual budget process, so “to have a possible transition in the middle of that would be a little bit of a nightmare.”

“He graciously offered to stay, and we accepted,” he said.

The town had originally planned to re-advertise for a permanent town manager in January, but Maxfield said that process will “be kicked down a few months.”

“We are going to pause on that for a little bit,” he said. “There’d be no point in advertising right now” since Tibbetts will stay through June. 

Tibbetts did not respond to requests for comment.

Windham has been searching for a new town manager since October 2018 when then-Town Manager Tony Plante left with a $175,000 severance package amid turmoil on the council about his job performance. Plante was replaced by Interim Town Manager Don Gerrish, who served until December 2019, when Tibbetts took over.

The town has advertised for a permanent manager three times. In the first search, no suitable candidate was found. In the second, finalist John Mauro turned down the council’s offer in favor of a city manager position in Washington state. In the third, finalist Leon Goodwin accepted a town manager position in Dedham, Massachusetts.