Great Barrington — There will soon be a major employment opportunity in Town Hall with the departure of town clerk Marie Y. Ryan, who has been offered the job of town administrator in West Stockbridge.
Ryan was in London, England, attending a conference, her assistant Ellyn Dupont said this morning. Ryan was not expected back in the office until Monday and had not returned an email message from The Edge by late afternoon. Dupont did not know when Ryan’s last day would be.
In a very brief interview, Bernie Fallon, who chairs the West Stockbridge Board of Selectmen, said the town is “very excited to have Marie.” Fallon said he was very busy at work and would call back in the evening. When he does call, this story will be updated with additional information.
Ryan has been Great Barrington’s town clerk since June 2007 and, in 2017, was appointed president of the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association, which sent her to the current conference in London.
Ryan is a familiar face in Great Barrington. She is also well-known in Richmond, where she has been the part-time town clerk since April 2017. In some municipalities, town clerks are elected officials, but in Great Barrington, it’s an appointed position.
The clerk is the keeper and disseminator of most public records in the town. Everything from vital statistics to public notices to business certificates are maintained in the clerk’s office. In Massachusetts, the town clerk is also a highly visible public figure whose office oversees elections in the town.
Selectboard Chairman Steve Bannon confirmed to The Edge that the task of hiring a new town clerk will fall to new town manager Mark Pruhenski, who himself was only hired this spring and is currently in his first week on the job.
In an interview, Pruhenski said Ryan has not told him precisely when her last day will be. And since Tuesday was only his second day on the job, he had not yet had a chance to meet with Ryan to discuss the matter.
Pruhenski said it is unlikely the town will use a search firm to fill Ryan’s position, as was done when the selectboard tried to fill former town manager Jennifer Tabakin’s shoes. The position will likely be posted on the websites of the Massachusetts Municipal Association and the aforementioned Massachusetts Town Clerks Association, and perhaps advertised locally.
Pruhenski said he also appreciates the fact that the town clerk is an appointed position in Great Barrington because it essentially “professionalizes” the job.
“It allows us to look for somebody with qualifications without it being a popularity contest,” Pruhenski explained. “A number of towns have moved toward appointed treasurers and town clerks because they’re highly technical jobs.”
Ironically, Pruhenski, the former town administrator in Richmond, was going to take on the additional responsibility of becoming town administrator in West Stockbridge through a shared services agreement between those two towns.
But that deal collapsed when Pruhenski was hired to be Great Barrington’s new town manager, replacing Tabakin, who after six years on the job, announced last May than she would not seek to have her contract renewed when it expired at the end of June 2019.
“It’s great for her but she does such a great job,” selectboard member Ed Abrahams told The Edge, adding that he does not yet know when Ryan’s last day will be. “She will be missed.”
This story will be revised when additional information becomes available.
