AMHERST – Town budget season, as town officials everywhere can attest, is invariably the most hectic, challenging time of year. But take away a key component – the town administrator, for instance – and getting through suddenly seems an especially daunting assignment.
That’s precisely the current state of affairs in Amherst, where town administrator James O’Mara hasn’t been seen at Town Hall since he quietly began serving what selectmen have only described as an “administrative leave” in early December.
What’s known around town beyond that is pretty much nothing. Bruce Bowler, a selectman who became board chairman when O’Mara, the previous chairman, was named town administrator in October 2011, has steadfastly declined repeated media and resident requests for even the most basic details.
The day O’Mara was placed on leave, selectmen and all Town Hall employees were instructed to sign a directive banning them from talking about the matter.
Claiming he and other selectmen are bound to secrecy because “it’s a personnel issue,” Bowler has refused to address the reason for the leave, if there’s a set length, if it’s paid or not or whether the circumstances could lead to legal, financial or other negative ramifications for taxpayers.
It’s that last question that worries residents like Mark Vincent, a member of the School District Ways and Means Committee and chairman of the Amherst Citizens Association. “I think not having any answers has a bearing on how taxpayers and residents will look at the (proposed town) budget and warrant articles in March,” Vincent said of the annual town election.![]()
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