BATH
Bath Interim City Manager Peter Owen has offered to nix the “interim” part of his title, bringing a proposal to the city council to appoint him as permanent city manager.
“Basically what I did was offer to the council an alternative to going out for a search, offering myself for permanent city manager,” said Owen.
When City Manager Bill Giroux resigned after 11 years in the position over the summer, then-Public Works Director Peter Owen was appointed as interim city manager. Owen, who was planning to retire, accepted the position with the intention of overseeing the city’s operations until the city could conduct a thorough hiring process for a new city manager.
That hiring process was put off for the fall as the city pursued a change to the city charter that would allow the city council to determine whether any specific city manager had to live in Bath. That change, said Owen, who does not live in Bath, was integral to his openness to taking on the position in a more permanent fashion.
“When I first was approached I said I wasn’t planning to move, so I didn’t really consider it very seriously as far as staying on,” said Owen. “But once the charter was changed, that sort of changed my options.”
Additionally, Owen said his time on the job has changed his perspective on taking the position.
“I had the opportunity to walk around and meet a lot of the business leaders with the council chair, and became much more engaged with that element of the community,” he said, “and became very excited about working with the business community.”
“It’s not coming as a shock to the council,” said City Council Chairwoman Mari Eosco. “He’s been talking to council members about the idea of it.”
The idea has been discussed in executive session, added Eosco. Owen said that he has a “good synergy with the council,” which is part of why he decided to pursue this option. He added that he’s received positive responses from council members about the idea.
Owen is also proposing to change the city manager position from a year-to-year con- tract to a two-year contract.
“The previous city manager had a one-year contract. I felt a two-year (contract) was a reasonable term to give myself and the council to look at performance,” said Owen.
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