With the announcement of the specifics of the 2026-27 budget, it has been revealed that this year’s budget contains four new town positions, one of which is a director of operations at a proposed salary of roughly $125,000. This position has kicked off a discussion in our Letters Hive, with proponents and detractors of the idea weighing in.

Additionally, looking at the possibility of a town manager is among the items of potential discussion for the soon-to-be-formed Charter Revision Commission. Meanwhile, two years ago, a Town Administrator Ad Hoc Committee commissioned by former First Selectman Dan Rosenthal found the need for a town administrator, which former First Selectman Jeff Capeci, who succeeded Rosenthal, declined to implement.

To assuage confusion over these similar sounding but differently named positions, let’s go over what each one is.

One of them, the town manager, is legally defined by the state.

A town manager is, according to cga.ct.gov, “a municipality’s chief executive officer (CEO). In most municipal forms of government, the CEO (e.g., the mayor or first selectman) is elected. But town managers are hired by the municipality’s legislative body (generally a town council or board of selectmen). The council/manager form of government is thought to professionalize the CEO position — most towns pay their managers a salary and require he or she have a Master of Public Administration — and minimize the role of partisan politics in the administration of the local government. The responsibilities of a town manager, sometimes called a city manager or general manager, vary by town and the manner in which the role was created (i.e., by charter or by vote, as explained below). But generally, the town manager executes the legislative entity’s policies, prepares a budget and presents it to the board of finance, and oversees the day-to-day management of town business. The town manager usually has the authority to appoint and remove department heads, as well.”

A town administrator, as defined by the Town of Darien, which Newtown’s ad hoc committee often used as a model, is “appointed by, and serves at the pleasure of, the Board of Selectmen. A professional public manager, the Town Administrator provides staff assistance to the Board and the First Selectman, makes policy recommendations, acts as an advisor and informational resource, carries out Board directives and policies, and coordinates the efforts of Town departments. Administrative areas of responsibility include budget development, performance measurement and evaluation, grant administration, program review, insurance administration, and purchasing.”

The main difference is that by state statute CGS § 7-193, “any municipality that adopts a home rule charter, or amends its existing one, must have a CEO. This law also specifies the allowable types of charter-established CEOs, and a town manager is among them.”

A town manager is a legally defined position that serves as a town CEO and must be named as such by the town’s charter. A town administrator, while fulfilling similar duties, is not the town’s CEO but serves under the town’s CEO, which is a first selectman, mayor, etc.

A director of operations is largely the same thing as a town administrator, merely operating under a different name. The director of operations, like a town administrator, would serve under Newtown’s CEO of the first selectman.

We hope, as conversation on this topic continues, that this helps to keep everyone on the same page.