By Susan Clark
sclark@yourneighborhoodnews.com

He has seen Bedford grow in population and commercial base, brought it through a property revaluation and oversaw expansion of town services to meet the needs of the community.

After serving Bedford for a decade, Town Manager Keith Hickey will say goodbye, leaving a $115,000 annual salary for a similar position in Merrimack.

“I think it’s good for the community to hear a different voice,” said Hickey. “I’ll miss the every day interaction with the town council and our great town employees.”

Town Council Chairman Bill Van Anglen said Hickey’s service has been vital to the community.

“He has done a great job for us and he’s assembled a great group of people,” said Van Anglen. “We hope we can find someone as good to replace him.” The town council was scheduled to discuss hiring a new town manager at its Sept. 13 meeting.

Hickey began his career in Bedford in 1996 as finance and personnel director, after serving as city comptroller in Portsmouth. In 2000, he took over as Bedford’s town manager, replacing Catherine Debo.

Inheriting challenges such as maintaining a reasonable tax rate, poor road conditions and a town facing rapid residential growth, Hickey said he tried to serve the needs and desires of the town.

One way to do that, he said, was to keep communication open – not only with the council and town employees, but more importantly with the residents.

“I tried to provide as much information to the public as possible, be it through TV shows, improving our Web site and trying to balance the needs, then desires, of groups and organiztions in town, be it sports leagues, conservationists or others.”

Reaching out to the community included facing BCTV cameras in his “Town Manager’s Update”, bringing election information to viewers and conducting several live call-in shows where residents could ask direct questions or voice concerns.

During his tenure as town manager, Hickey has seen Bedford purchase or acquire through easements about 300 acres of open space, including 190 acres at Joppa Hill Farm, land abutting the Pulpit Rock area and old railroad beds for potential use as trails.

Future challenges to the town, Hickey said, will be the impact of the high school/middle school on the tax rate and roads.

Hickey is the fourth town manager in Bedford’s history. The first town manager was David Crawford. The second, Artherline Robersen, served from 1991-98.
The town charter with a town council/town manager form of government was adopted on Dec. 8, 1987, when it went from selectmen to a seven-member town council. The charter was then revised Aug. 1, 1988.

The town manager is appointed by the town council to function as the chief executive and administrator responsible for all town departments and employees. The town manager serves at the pleasure of the town council, according to the charter. The job requires carrying out policy decisions, overseeing town-owned property, keeping the council informed of town’s needs and ongoing conditions, making reports and acting as a non-voting advisor at meetings. On an annual basis, the town manager also provides an operating budget and a long-range capital improvement plan.