NEWBURYPORT — With a long list of vacancies on several city board and committees, Mayor Sean Reardon is strongly urging residents to submit applications to join the municipal service experience.
Earlier this week, Reardon announced he is looking to fill current or anticipated openings on 11 city entities, including the Affordable Housing Trust; Board of Registrars; Board of Water/Sewer Commissioners; Community Preservation Act Committee; Council on Aging Board of Directors; Conservation Commission; Commission on Disability; Harbor Commission; Historical Commission; Human Rights Commission; and Tree Commission.
“These volunteers play a large role in keeping Newburyport moving forward. It’s a great way to give back to your community and put your talents and skills toward making Newburyport even better,” he said in a message, adding that his administration has done a “good job” in finding new, talented residents to sit on the city’s many boards and commissions this year.
City appointments are voluntary positions that require the appointment of the mayor and approval of the City Council.
Chief of Staff Andrew Levine said the board and commission openings represent an excellent opportunity for the city to find some new volunteers.
“We’re happy with how our boards and commissions look and see this as an opportunity to get even more people involved. We want to see who is out there and interested,” he said. “We encourage anyone interested in volunteering to apply and we look forward to working with them to find the right fit with our current and expected openings.”
Levine added that perspective volunteers who may not get their first pick of a board of commission seat could find themselves in a better position.
“We’ve noticed a couple times, while filling seats on boards and commissions over the last nine months, that the one that people apply for isn’t always the best fit. So, we encourage some flexibility here, and like seeing if people are open to multiple opportunities,” he said.
Interested applicants can send a letter of interest along with a resume to Reardon’s executive assistant, Christine Jackson, at cjackson@cityofnewburyport.com or by mail to: Mayor’s Office, City Hall, 60 Pleasant St., Newburyport, MA, 01950.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
