Rosemary Roy, the North Yarmouth town manager for the past seven years, resigned last week after being on a paid leave of absence of more than three months.

Roy

Roy had been on medical leave for an undisclosed reason following an April 12 Select Board meeting when she and her husband verbally lashed out at residents and she threatened to sue the town.

Roy declined to comment on her resignation during a phone call last week.

Select Board Chairperson Brian Sites read a joint statement from Roy and the board at a July 20 meeting: “The Select Board and the town manager, Rosemary Roy, jointly announce that Rosemary has resigned as town manager for personal reasons, effective tonight. Rosemary has been the town manager since 2014. During her tenure, Rosemary has worked on the change to the town manager form of government, updating the town’s Comprehensive Plan, the establishment of a tax increment finance district, and the development of the new Wescustogo Hall and Community Center, as well as guiding the town through COVID-19. The board thanks Rosemary for her years of service to the town.”

Sites declined to comment further on Roy’s resignation.

Town Clerk Debbie Grover will continue to act as town manager until Aug. 5,  Sites said.

Sites said the Select Board met July 23 to discuss the process of hiring an interim town manager. Vice Chairperson Jim Moulton and Selectman Austin Harrell will select one or two candidates from a pool of candidates listed through the Maine Municipal Association to be interviewed by the board at a meeting on Aug. 3, he said.

The public will have the opportunity to comment on the interim town manager selection at the Aug. 3 meeting, he said.

The board also will begin the process of searching for a permanent town manager, which Sites said could take a long time.

“There are 29 municipalities across the state currently looking for a permanent town manager,” Sites said, adding that an interim manager could be in place in  “a couple months” or “it could be six months.”

Former North Yarmouth selectman Paul Napolitano, who resigned from the board in October 2020, was yelled at by Roy and had a confrontation with her husband at the April 12 meeting. Napolitano suggested a citizen’s group be formed to help narrow down a larger pool of candidates for the permanent town manager position.

Napolitano said previously that he resigned from the board because of Roy. During her absence, he commented that he was glad she was gone. “There was so much hate and discontent in that office,” Napolitano said.

Prior to being hired in North Yarmouth, Roy served as town manager in Poland, where she spent the last four months of her contract on paid administrative leave. Her contract was not renewed.

The Forecaster has requested emails between Roy and town officials over the past three months to provide context for her resignation.