Village and Town to Discontinue Shared Management

Following two failed merger votes in March and April of this year, the Town of Essex Selectboard and the Village of Essex Junction Board of Trustees have worked cooperatively on certain details of Village separation from the Town. During this time, the Village Trustees have been clear that, regardless of the outcome of Village separation, the Village plans to hire its own municipal manager.

The unified manager model functioned well while the two boards worked first towards service consolidation and ultimately merger of the Village and Town. The boards believe that it is no longer beneficial to operate under a unified manager model with the Village seeking independence. As such, the Agreement concerning the sharing of Unified Manager Evan Teich will not be renewed.

Mr. Teich's current contract is set to expire on February 25, 2022, at which time Mr. Teich will no longer serve as unified manager of both communities. Each board is in the process of assessing its future management needs for their respective communities and we extend our sincere appreciation for the excellent service Mr. Teich provided both the Village and Town during our Merger efforts.

Questions should be directed to Andrew Brown, President of the Village Board of Trustees, abrown@ essexjunction.org, and Andy Watts, Chair of the Town of Essex Selectboard, awatts@ essex.org.