The resignation of Dennis Keschl as town manager of Belgrade brings to the forefront the issue of judgment, poor judgment to be direct (“Belgrade town manager to resign for personal reasons,” May 2).

Mr. Keschl had served previously as town manager and representative during different time periods. He was well aware of the demands of both positions yet judged he could fulfill both. He is on record when hired that he would commit to the position of town manager for a period of three to five years. Belgrade Board of Selectmen gave their approval for him to run and to hold both positions.

Now Mr. Keschl has submitted his resignation as town manager but will retain his seat in the House. This clearly calls into question judgments made by Mr. Keschl and the selectmen in what is best for our community. Holding the position of town manager is time-consuming and the compensation is almost $100,000 per year. Being a representative requires a major time commitment and wide latitude in availability plus a heavy workload to represent constituents properly.

The decision by Mr. Keschl to keep his position with Belgrade while running for office calls into question his judgment of the workloads involved and the promise he made when hired. It calls into question why the selectmen would approve having a full-time manager who has the additional demands of being the representative for House District 76.

Now Belgrade has to initiate a hiring process, as some predicted, to replace Mr. Keschl. I now wonder about his judgment when it comes to representing me in our Legislature.

 

Jane Manson

Belgrade

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