HANOVER — Alex Torpey now leads perhaps the smoothest-running municipal government in the Twin States.

Taking over as town manager after Julia Griffin’s 25-year tenure, Torpey is still getting to know the staff his predecessor patiently assembled to meet the needs of this growing and affluent college town.

“The town organization is a very well-functioning municipal government,” Torpey said. “It’s nice to be able to come into an organization where there’s not really any major disasters looming the first day walking in the door.”

But Torpey, 35, sees — and in some respects embodies — a generational change. Where Griffin came to town looking for a place to raise her kids, Torpey is more footloose. He’s not sure how long he’ll stay beyond his three-year contract, which starts at $160,000 a year. And he sees the coming generations in the same terms. It’s something Hanover needs to prepare for, he said.

Torpey sees the challenges ahead as baby boomers leave the workforce and Generation X, millennials and Gen Z take the reins, and drawing and retaining those younger workers may be harder because of changes in priorities.

“We have to relook at what working for a government looks like,” Torpey said. “The amount of labor we’ve had, we’re not going to have that for 10 to 15 years.”

While a town with Hanover’s spending power might not have to compromise, he thinks it’s inevitable that they’ll have to reduce the amount and quality of service that people. He said the old standbys of job security, benefits and a retirement plan are not what attract new workers.

“Smart, hardworking people aren’t interested in staying with an employer for 20-25 years,” Torpey said.

Mobility is a core part of professional life for younger generations, as are work-life balance accommodations such as flexible schedules and remote work.

These changes also pertain to him, Torpey said. He said that while he talked with recruiters and the Selectboard hiring committee, even as he’s walking into a role his predecessor held for 2½ decades, “twenty-five years was not part of the deal.”

His best assessment on his longevity with the town is likely in the three- to 10-year range.

Torpey is a big believer in civic engagement and believes small-town government works best as a partnership between town staff, residents, business owners and others.

He has launched the idea of forming a new CIVICS Committee, which stands for Community, Information, Volunteerism, Inclusivity, Communication and Service.

“The more people who are informed, the more people who are engaged, the better decisions we’ll make,” Torpey said.

Such a group might work on a planned new town website and a new town logo.

Torpey also is looking at new ideas for getting information about town government into the hands of residents.

Rob Houseman, Hanover’s director of planning, zoning and codes, said Torpey brings an enthusiasm for technology, which he said is both great and a challenge for some of the more senior staff.

“Alex has youthful enthusiasm,” Houseman said. “I enjoy the fresh perspective and the energy and the out-of-the-box thought process.”

Torpey recently released the first installment of Hanover Happenings, a monthly 20- to 30-minute podcast about current issues in town. The first episode includes a self-introduction but also talks about issues before the Selectboard. He plans to feature a staff member each month, as well as his report to the board.

The podcast is another adaptation. Many people don’t have the time to spend reading like they used to, Torpey said. That doesn’t mean old-school methods like newsletters are going away, but new technologies allow town staff to reach people in more ways.

“I can provide my administrative reports in an audio format, so that someone can listen to it while they’re driving to work,” Torpey said. “Everybody that I’ve talked to is very excited about getting this information. We can help people consume that information.”

Institutional knowledge

Digesting information has been the essence of Torpey’s job so far. He started on June 27 and since then has been trying to get up to speed. Having built the administration she led, Griffin knows it inside and out. She said in an interview in June that she would be available if Torpey needs to consult her, but she wasn’t planning to look over his shoulder.

“The amount of institutional knowledge she had … I don’t have that,” Torpey said. “There’s a steep learning curve.”

Two of Hanover’s long-term department heads said Torpey has a lot of people and issues demanding his time.

Peter Kulbacki, director of public works, said Torpey is learning how things are done and where he might be able to help.

And Houseman said that information is coming fast.

“He’s drinking from the fire hose right now and being hit by everybody with asks and wants,” Houseman said.

Beyond staffing town government, other issues on Torpey’s radar include housing and business.

Business development — startups, recruitment and retention — is important, and he wants to know what the town is doing right and what the town is doing wrong. He’s begun engaging with business leaders to focus on economic development.

Houseman said the pandemic made people realize how fragile the downtown economy is and sees Torpey pursuing ideas and initiatives to address its vitality.

Everybody is facing housing issues, and Torpey sees housing as a problem that will prevent Hanover from being able to recruit new talent, both for Hanover businesses and Town Hall.

Early start in government

Torpey was born and raised in New Jersey, graduating from Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J.

He followed an early interest in government to a bachelor’s degree in political science and American law at Hampshire College and was elected mayor of South Orange, N.J., his hometown, a city of 16,000 at the age of 23.

He later went on to earn a Master of Public Administration degree from City University of New York-John Jay College with a concentration in emergency management.

He also worked as a municipal manager in Leonia, N.J., in addition to teaching master’s-level courses at Seton Hall University in South Orange and running his own consulting firm.

He recently spent some time out of government and said getting back into it wasn’t a given until he found the Hanover job.

Torpey received a $75,000 settlement in May 2021 after suing the city of Lambertville, N.J., where he was fired from his job as business manager in 2020, according to published reports in various New Jersey media outlets. He claimed Mayor Julia Fahl retaliated against him, violated open public records laws and used sexual and offensive language.

The settlement did not include any admission of guilt or responsibility from either side.

Torpey, in an interview, said all he wanted was what was owed him under New Jersey employment law. He was terminated after announcing his plans to resign. He said the settlement, which he can’t talk about, wasn’t about anything else.

“We were going to part ways amicably,” Torpey said, but he said he was denied due process. “We tried to resolve it outside of the litigation process.”

Torpey said the lawsuit was no surprise to anyone and came up during the interview process with Hanover officials.

The Hanover job emerged after he’d spent four months traveling the country, camping in national forests and parks. He reflected on what he wanted personally and professionally.

He said he wanted to live in an area surrounded by nature with town leaders who valued transparency and a dedication to civic engagement.

“When I came to Hanover, it was an intuitive bull’s-eye,” Torpey said. “I’m a pretty analytical person, maybe to a fault. This one was very easy from that perspective.”

Torpey said his best night is one spent in a tent. He is not married, camps whenever possible and has some land in Vermont where he’s seeking to live in harmony with nature as he builds an off-grid camp. He currently lives in a house-share situation and in a tent on his Vermont property when he can.

“It’s part of my work-life balance,” Torpey said, adding that while at work he’s plugged in with multiple screens feeding him information. “It’s pretty nice to turn that off when I’m not here.”

Away from the office, Torpey enjoys nature photography, motorcycle travel, reading and writing. He has two books in the works, a science fiction novel and a scholarly study of the drinking age and alcohol policy in the United States.

He’s also a musician, and he opened the door to taking on yet another role to go with his new job: “If there’s a band who needs a bad drummer, I’d be happy to.”

Darren Marcy can be reached at dmarcy@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.

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