By Carol Britton Meyer

Hull’s first assistant town manager is scheduled to begin work on April 10.

Stacy Callahan, currently Rockland’s human resources director, will spend roughly half of her time as human resources director and the other half as liaison to Hull’s community services departments for support and to work on special projects, according to Town Manager Jennifer Constable.

“There were 24 candidates with various qualifications,” Constable told The Hull Times. “We interviewed five of them, and Stacy really rose to the top.”

**SECOND IN COMMAND.** Hull’s first assistant town manager, Stacy Callahan, will start work on April 10. [Courtesy photo]

Constable and a consultant from Community Paradigm Associates – the firm that was engaged to assist with the search for the next town manager following Philip Lemnios’s retirement announcement – interviewed the five finalists.

“We were in agreement about all of the candidates,” Constable explained.

Callahan, who will be paid an annual salary of $125,000, comes to Hull with 30 years of professional and managerial experience, including 11 on the municipal side, along with eight years of collective bargaining experience.

She has also had a great deal of interaction with Rockland’s community services departments, which will prove helpful in working with the staff of similar services in Hull – including the library, senior center, and veterans’ services.

‘We wanted to be flexible in the beginning’

“This is the first time Hull has had an assistant town manager, so there will be some evolution of the position,” Constable said. “We wanted to be flexible in the beginning, depending on the workload of the town manager’s office and across the departments. When I’m not available, Stacy will be me.”

Callahan’s extensive human resources experience and communications skills will be valuable in helping to update personnel policies “and improve the benefits we offer,” Constable said. “I know she will be a great fit with staff and the town.”

Another project that Callahan will be involved with are wage and classification studies to ensure the town is competitive in attracting candidates for available positions.

Voters at the 2023 town meeting approved the inclusion of $130,000 – more or less, depending on capabilities and past experience – in the Fiscal 2024 budget for an assistant town manager position due in large part to town operations becoming more complex and the increasing workload of the town manager.

‘Employees wear different hats’

Callahan was in mutual funds prior to raising her children and began working for the Town of Rockland as the assistant treasurer in 2012.

“Like many towns, employees wear many different hats,” she said. “Aside from processing payroll and reconciling, I handled health insurance, retirees, and onboarding. I saw the need to create a new position and became the town’s first human resources coordinator.”

In that position, she worked with management to streamline benefits and saved the town more than $500,000.

“I also created the town’s first policies and procedures manual, as well as managing the hiring process, onboarding, and workers compensation more efficiently,” she said.

Callahan also participated in union negotiations and handled retirements and retiree benefits.

After a few years of developing this new department, she was promoted to Rockland’s first human resources director and in time expanded the department.

“I’ve been very fortunate over the years in Rockland to have the opportunity to develop and grow my role and responsibilities,” Callahan said. “We were afforded a $30,000 training budget, which I used for training in discrimination and harassment, supervising in a unionized environment, Excel, respect in the workplace, effective communication skills, and supervisory leadership development program, to name a few.”

During her career she has conducted compensation studies, developed job descriptions, and most recently, secured a $40,000 grant to partner with the Collins Center for Management to develop a comprehensive classification and compensation plan for the Town of Rockland.

Understanding of how municipal government works

“Each one of my municipal positions afforded me the opportunity to really get to know the employees, the positions throughout municipal government, and to understand how the operations of municipal government work,” Callahan explained.

Her goal as Hull’s assistant town manager will be “to help fulfill the need for developing human resources and to prioritize and carry out the goals determined by the town manager and the select board.”

Callahan is looking forward to getting to know the employees, the operations of the town, the community, and working with the town manager.

She said she was attracted to this position for several reasons.

“Learning that a good portion of the position is human resources was attractive and important to me,” Callahan explained. “I felt this position would be a great opportunity for me to continue doing what I love, as well as allow me to learn new aspects of town government and take on new challenges.”

Location is everything

The second reason was the location.

“Hull is in some ways comparable to Rockland, being a small town, and working near the ocean certainly has its benefits,” she said.

The prospect of working with Constable again was another attraction. Hull’s town manager was formerly the assistant town administrator in Rockland.

“I was fortunate to work with Jen in Rockland and admired her dedication to her work in Rockland and in Hull,” Callahan said. “I knew that if I was extended the opportunity to work with her again, we would pick up where we left off working as a team, but this time it will be in Hull.”

She said she brings to her new job the qualities of enthusiasm, professionalism, communication skills, drive, dependability, flexibility, and a willingness to learn along with a bachelor’s degree in business management with a human resources concentration.

Callahan is also a member of the Massachusetts Municipal Human Resources Association, Massachusetts Municipal Association, and the Society of Human Resource Management and is working on her SHRM certification.

Although not a Hull resident, when discussing her new job with her daughter, she was quick to ask if they could move here.

“There is so much to like about Hull – the small-town friendly community, the ocean, the views, taking the ferry into Boston, and the restaurants,” she said.

Callahan grew up on the South Shore and spent her childhood summers going to Paragon Park, the beach, arcade, boardwalk, and the carousel.

“Fortunately, I was able to experience much of the same with my [now-grown] children, bringing back so many great memories,” she said.

The South Shore “is a great place to live and work, and I’m looking forward to my next professional chapter working for the Town of Hull,” she said. “I’m excited to meet my new co-workers and to get to know more about the community. It’s a very exciting time for me!”

Like what you’re reading? Stay informed with a Hull Times subscription by clicking here.

Do you have an opinion on this issue? Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.