Three weeks after Chichester residents voted to effectively eliminate the town’s entire administrative office, they reversed course Saturday, deciding to restore nearly all of the money for the office to the town’s operating budget for next fiscal year.

The vote – which passed comfortably, 178-52 – puts to rest major questions that emerged about how a town of 2,600 could perform basic functions, such as paying employees and purchasing postage, without a town administrator or funding for expenses.

But while Saturday’s decision eases the immediate uncertainty, Chichester still faces significant leadership questions. In the coming weeks, the Select Board’s two current members – veteran Richard Bouchard and newly-elected member Matthew Stolnis – must agree on a replacement for former member Mike Williams, who resigned abruptly days before the mid-March meeting.

They must also reorganize the administrative office that residents originally voted to eliminate, armed with about $35,000 less than the $235,000 they originally requested, which coincidentally is about the same amount of money the selectmen paid Jodi Pinard in the form of a raise to return to her post after resigning.

Chichester faced administrative upheaval when Pinard resigned from her role and then was promptly rehired in a non-public session at a salary of $120,000, $31,000 more than she had previously been making. 

While the select board defended their decision by pointing to salary data from comparable communities, critics saw the move as a wasteful use of taxpayer dollars and the latest in what they described as a long list of irresponsible decision-making by their town leaders.

Frustrated, they decided to eliminate the executive portion of the budget entirely in an effort to send a message.

The meeting on Saturday was the resumption of that town meeting, which had been paused midway through once it surpassed six hours. Saturday’s continuation began with a motion to restore the administrative office’s budget allocation fully, which passed before an amendment was made to reduce it slightly.

Chris Weir, the most vocal member of the budget-cutting faction in March, said much had changed over the previous three weeks.

“Now, we’re facing a brand new board,” Weir said in an interview following the vote. “They’re going to start to reorganize that office the way we see fit, or the way they see fit, and I think they’ll involve the public in doing something. So it’s a win-win.”

The motion that passed calls for the three administrative positions in the office to be funded at 3.5% more than they were budgeted for in 2024. Under the salaries laid out in the motion, Pinard would receive $89,965, the currently-vacant planning coordinator and administrative assistant position would receive $61,701, and the part-time town hall floater would receive $17,270.

The select board is not required by law to follow the specific spending allocations laid out in the motion and may move money around as long as it doesn’t spend more than the total $3.8 million operating budget that voters approved. However, Bouchard, the only select board member with experience serving on the board, pledged to “adhere” to the amount budgeted for the administrative office in the motion that was passed. 

Pinard, who has worked as Chichester’s town administrator for 11 years, was not present Saturday and did not respond to a request for comment.

By the time the town meeting concluded at roughly 12:30 p.m., voters had spent more than nine hours across two days vociferously debating the future of their small town. Saturday’s turnout of 232 surpassed the 170 that showed up for the mid-March meeting, which itself was higher than Chichester had seen in as long as those present could remember.

Across the ideological spectrum, residents lauded the increased civic engagement and expressed hope it would continue.

“This is fantastic. There are a lot of people here who would not otherwise be here if Chris Weir and others hadn’t raised significant questions, and having a debate is a good thing for the town, not a bad thing,” former town moderator Doug Hall said. “Did you look at the ballots for the school district and the town and how many positions were unopposed? We need people to participate more.”

Weir himself proclaimed victory.

“We came together in a record number of people. We talked, we argued, we discussed, and we voted to do what we, the majority, want done,” he said. “That’s a win. Doesn't matter if I liked it, I agreed with it, or I didn't. We won.”

The Board of Selectmen is set to convene for its first post-town meeting session on April 15, where the third selectman will likely be appointed. No agenda has been released yet.

Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com.