Council president offers to pilot limited administrator duties; council to discuss further

The New Whiteland council president on Jan. 7 proposed a voluntary, one-year trial in which the president would take on limited town-administrator duties — such as meeting with department heads, assisting with vendor research and supporting the budgeting process — without additional pay. The president emphasized he would not seek extra authority and would step in only with council approval for actions within prior approvals.

"I'm not asking for any extra authority whatsoever," the council president said, offering to commit one afternoon per week and one full Friday per month to the role for a year. He said the change would be tested and evaluated after the trial period.

Council members discussed conflicts of interest and the need to avoid creating an employee-employer relationship with a sitting council member. Several members suggested producing a written job description, collecting feedback from department heads and considering a structural decoupling so that duties could persist beyond the current president if the experiment were later compensated.

The council did not take a vote. Staff and the president agreed to circulate a more detailed plan and job description before the next regular meeting so department heads and council members can provide input.

Why it matters: Small towns often struggle to recruit full-time municipal managers. The proposal aims to relieve pressure on department leaders while retaining council oversight, but it raises governance questions about role clarity and compensation if continued.

Next steps: The president will prepare a written proposal and job description; staff will collect department-head feedback and the council will revisit the item at a future meeting.