After serving West Tisbury for more than two decades, town administrator Jennifer Rand announced she will be retiring. But with it came concerns about added expenses to the up-Island town.
According to a letter from Rand, read by West Tisbury Select Board Chair Skipper Manter during a Wednesday meeting, she plans to retire by July 16, 2027. She will be leaving her role after 23 years, and the board unanimously approved her retirement.
The transition isn’t immediate, and Rand called for a meeting to be held with the town’s finance committee in early September to get ahead of the change, because “this will absolutely impact the budget.”
“I really believe we should schedule this meeting with the finance committee to have a serious talk about the budget for next year, and pulling together everything we know about what’s coming, including and not limited to this position,” Rand said.
September is also when a timeline for hiring a new town administrator is expected to be determined.
Rand is now the third town administrator to retire in the past two years. Most recently, Wendy Brough was hired as the Oak Bluffs town administrator, replacing her predecessor, Deborah Potter. Last year, Tisbury hired Joe LaCivita to replace outgoing town administrator Jay Grande. But compared with other Island town administrators, Rand’s salary is roughly $25,000 lower, and a higher pay grade is expected to be needed to attract candidates. There will also be an overlap period when the town is paying both Rand and the new town administrator during the transition.
“The town has grown, and you have grown in the job,” Jessica Miller, board member, said to Rand.
Budget was a top concern in West Tisbury this year. It was one of the Vineyard towns that proposed steep overrides to fill gaps in its annual municipal budgets, and West Tisbury voters approved a $3.49 million override at the annual town meeting and election.nicipal budgets, and West Tisbury voters approved a $3.49 million override at the annual town meeting and election.
