HARTFORD — The Hartford Selectboard voted, 6-1, on Monday to offer the acting town manager position to Finance Director Gail Ostrout and the position of acting assistant manager to Human Resources Director Paula Nulty, pending a mutual agreement on the conditions of service.

Ostrout and Nulty have overseen the town’s day-to-day operations since Oct. 21, when the Selectboard announced its decision to place Town Manager Tracy Yarlott-Davis on administrative leave.

At Monday’s Selectboard meeting, Chairman Michael Hoyt said the board “has been advised not to comment” about the situation involving Yarlott-Davis until there is “a final resolution.”

“We are intending to get you as much information as we can, but we may just have to wait a little bit,” Hoyt said in a message to the community.

Yarlott-Davis, a former auditor from Oakland, Calif., took over as the permanent town manager in February 2021, nearly a year after the resignation of her predecessor, Brannon Godfrey. She was Hartford’s first female town manager.

Prior to naming the new acting town administrators, the Selectboard met in a nonpublic executive session, which Vermont statute permits, “to discuss pending or probable civil litigation or a prosecution, to which the (board) is or may be a party.”

The Selectboard declined to discuss with the Valley News the reason for the meeting.

Selectboard member Lannie Collins cast the lone opposing vote to the offering of the acting administrative roles.

Collins told the Valley News in an email that he does not believe the town charter authorizes the Selectboard to hire an assistant town manager.

“My understanding of the language of the town charter is that the Selectboard has the duty to hire an acting town manager, (but) it does not give the board the authority to make up other positions as is deemed necessary,” Collins explained.

“From my understanding the Selectboard only has one employee, the town manager. All other employees are under the guidance of the town manager. My vote was based on my belief of the true intent of the town charter.”

Patrick Adrian may be reached at (603)727-3216 or at padrian@vnews.com.

CORRECTION: Paula Nulty is Hartford’s human resources director. A story in Wednesday's Valley News included a misspelling of her last name.

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