Adam Garland worked for the town of Richmond as one of its police officers for a number of years.
Now Garland, 36, is returning, but as its town manager.
O’Neil LaPlante, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said Garland was one of four finalists whom the Board of Selectmen interviewed before making its choice.
“They were all pretty close together, but he had been here and he had experience with the town,” LaPlante said. “He had knowledge of the town, good educational credentials and he had a good interview.”
Garland, who is the West Bath town administrator, will assume his duties in Richmond on Aug. 20 at an annual salary of $67,800.
“I am very excited the selectmen thought highly enough of me to invite me to work for the town,” Garland said.
Garland started at the Richmond Police Department full time in 2006 and was a sergeant there for eight years. He had worked for the Augusta Police Department full time, and part time for the Richmond Police Department, before that.
Before starting his position in West Bath in 2014, Garland had earned a bachelor’s degree in leadership and management through an online program with Bluefield College, which is based in Virginia. He also has completed a master’s degree in management and human resources through Purdue Global University, formerly Kaplan University.
The education allowed him to make a transition from law enforcement profession, he said.
“And it’s better for my family,” he added.
The Garlands live in Litchfield.
“I enjoy working with people and being able to be involved with things with a long-lasting, positive effect,” Garland said.
As town administrator, Garland said he worked on a project to replace West Bath’s salt and sand shed. He also has worked on updating the contracts for plowing and has helped the town complete its withdrawal from Regional School Unit 1, as well as helping to develop relationships with neighboring communities and state government.
“I worked on making the town administrator a public position,” he said. “West Bath, the selectmen, the staff and townspeople have been wonderful to work with. It was hard to make the decision to leave.”
Madelyn Hennessy, chairwoman of the West Bath Board of Selectmen, said Garland served as a resource to the board, providing research and background on a wide range of topics that came before the board.
“We will consider ourselves fortunate to find someone with with the professionalism and the care for the town that we had in Adam,” Hennessey said.
Garland will move into a position left vacant when Janet Smith, Richmond’s town manager since 2014, took a position in the private sector at the end of June.
“Janet did an excellent job,” LaPlante said. “She left with all the best wishes of the board.”
Garland said he’s confident Smith had a good handle on the budget, and he plans to build on it where she left off, continuing with some of the efficiencies that have been put in place.
“She was able to do some long-term planning that’s very beneficial to the town,” he said.
Jessica Lowell — 621-5632
Twitter: @JLowellKJ
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.