FOXBORO — With Town Manager John Coderre still absent from town hall and his future seemingly uncertain, local officials have moved swiftly to backfill a second key municipal vacancy created by the unexpected resignation of Human Resource Director Elizabeth Buetow.
Mark Elfman, who chairs the town select board, confirmed that Buetow tendered her resignation prior to the July 4th holiday, with her last day on July 5.
She had been hired last December following the departure of former Assistant Town Manager Michael Johns, who held the dual roles of assistant town manager and human resources director.
Elfman said Mary Beth Bernard — who preceded Johns in that same capacity, served as human resources director in both Westwood and Wrentham and currently is a part-time faculty member at Suffolk University — is expected to return in a consulting role to help shore up the leadership situation.
Bernard also had participated in the search and recruitment process late last year that led to Buetow’s hire.
Reached on Tuesday, Elfman said that addressing the permanent human resources vacancy would be a priority for select board members in upcoming weeks.
Town hall employees were informed Monday of Buetow’s resignation by Paige Duncan, Foxboro’s director of land use and economic development, who on June 28 was named acting assistant town manager in Coderre’s absence.
Elfman said that Duncan had been selected for the provisional appointment, in part because she had seniority over other available department managers.
Duncan was hired as Foxboro’s town planner in October 2015 to replace Sharon Wason, who died unexpectedly the previous May. Previously, she was part-time planner in Wrentham, a position she had held since 2006.
Elfman on Tuesday also declined comment on Coderre’s future with the town, saying only that the Northboro resident remains “on vacation,” but adding that he expected the situation to become clearer over the next few weeks.
Northboro experience
Coderre served 14 years as town administrator in Northboro before accepting Foxboro’s job offer to replace William Keegan, the longtime town manager who officially retired in January. Coderre assumed his new duties April 10.
His appointment by select board members had followed a months-long search and recruitment process that attracted 30 applicants and ultimately yielded four finalists.
In addition to Coderre, these included Edward “Ted” Langill, chief of staff and director of administrative services in Weymouth; Nicholas Riccio, former building commissioner in Foxboro, Wrentham and Mansfield (where he also served as interim town manager) and Christopher Senior, town manager in Cohasset.
Coderre’s three-year contract, which expires June 30, 2026, provides for a starting salary of $218,500 with annual increases of 2.5-percent based on satisfactory performance evaluations. Related provisions also call for a monthly car allowance of $550, in addition to a smart phone, tablet and laptop computer.
The uncertainty surrounding Coderre’s status and more-recent human resources vacancy have largely overshadowed another significant leadership transition in the finance department — with Marie Almodovar replacing retiring finance director George Samia.
“A lot has happened over the past few weeks,” Elfman remarked with understatement.
Buetow’s resignation comes just seven months after leaving the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office for the Foxboro job, when she was introduced as a well-rounded, highly qualified candidate with over 17 years of experience in human resources.
“Not only is she really qualified, I think she’ll be a great cultural fit,” said then-Chairwoman Leah Gibson said after Keegan announced Buetow’s hire in December.
