Royalston Selectboard outlines duties for new executive assistant role

ROYALSTON – The Selectboard has begun the search process for hiring its next executive assistant.

Much of the discussion at last Thursday’s meeting centered around a job description for the part-time position. Among other things, the board has expressed the need for help with handling correspondence between the town and state and federal officials, researching grants and grant writing, handling procurements and assisting with constituent services.

Board members expressed some concern that the duties of executive assistant won’t duplicate or complicate responsibilities currently handled by Michelle Deline and Deborah Rios, both of whom work part-time as administrative assistants to the Selectboard. The executive assistant would work under the Selectboard, but wold not have authority over the administrative assistants.

At a special election held on Sept. 4 2025, voters defeated a Proposition 2 ½ override which would have provided $85,000 to fund a full-time town administrator by a vote of 151-123.

At the 2026 Annual Town Meeting, voters approved an FY27 town budget that included the position of executive assistant. Funding for the position, however, was set at $25,000 for one year and whoever fills the post will only work 19 hours a week.

Approving the funding for one year would give the board and residents a chance to determine if the job is necessary or should be funded at a higher level with more hours. Resident Jeff Wright has, since the defeat of the override, taken on several tasks on a volunteer basis that would likely have been handed to an executive assistant.

Board Chair Bill Chapman said Wright has agreed to continue working in a volunteer capacity until a search can be conducted and the position filled.

“The town voted for it and I think we should get to it as soon as possible, to come up with a job description so we can advertise it and get the position filled – whether it’s the fellow who has currently been doing it (Wright) or whether it’s somebody else,” Chapman said.

Funding to pay for an executive assistant will become available as of July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. Chapman emphasized that the funding is allocated, “with the hope that whoever gets the position will gather the data to back up the need to continue it.”

Chapman told Wright that “it’s almost uncountable” the amount of money he has saved by handling recent lawsuits related to when a Department of Public Works employee accidentally spilled some diesel fuel into Lawrence Brook and nearby private properties two years ago, as well as cannabis-related issues. He added that whoever is hired will need to bring in a certain amount in grants to prove the position is worth it.

Wright stressed the need for some kind of flow chart delineating the duties of the new executive assistant from those of Deline and Rios.

“It’s not just important for the sake of being efficient, but also to prevent folks from stepping on one another’s toes,” Wright said. “That shouldn’t happen when people need to be working together to benefit the board and the town as a whole.”

“We need someone who can work with Michelle and Deb,” Chapman said. “We’re not looking for someone to be their supervisor. That really is the board’s job.”

It was decided that Selectboard member Steve Egan should work on a general job description which can be posted in the days ahead. The job will first be posted internally to find out if there are town employees who may be interested. The Selectboard will meet on July 7, at which time it will decide if the search needs to be shifted to an external one.