BY MATT HERSH

Salem selectmen have announced the details of their contract with new town manager Jonathan Sistare, who is set to begin work in October.

After months of candidate searching and negotiations with Sistare, who is currently in Iraq with the U.S.
Army Reserve, selectmen have set his salary at $118,000 for the first of three years. He will be eligible for a raise in the successive years.

Under the terms of the contract, Sistare will be eligible to receive a six-month severance package should he leave after one year of service.  If he is dismissed prior to a year of service, he will receive a 30-day severance package, according to current Town Manager Henry LaBranche.

He will also receive a $3,000-per-year car allowance. He has chosen to opt out of the town’s health insurance program.

“We’re very happy with the contract,” said Selectman Patrick Hargreaves. “We’ve all scrutinized it and it is better than (LaBranche’s) contract.”

Though members of the board said they were looking forward to bringing Sistare into Salem, there were a series of allegations about his level of professionalism and appropriateness of conduct during his prior work as town manager in Jaffrey.

The allegations were made largely by former Jaffrey police chief Martin Dunn, who said Sistare harassed him, sent racist e-mails to town staff, and plotted to have him removed from his position.

The series of allegations resulted in Dunn suing the town of Jaffrey on claims of harassment.  The suit was settled and Dunn was awarded $100,000,  in workman’s compensation and personal injury payments.

Neither the town of Jaffrey nor Dunn admitted to any wrongdoing.

In July, after Salem selectmen said they had selected Sistare from a pool of about 41 applicants, public documents surfaced that showed Sistare making comments about Dunn and forwarding a joke that made remarks about Jews, Muslims, gays and vegetarians.

None of the members of the Board of Selectmen have commented publicly on Sistare’s past, and the minutes of a meeting where they discussed the contract and possibly more about Sistare are still sealed.

Selectman Elizabeth Roth said the minutes will likely be unsealed after Sistare signs the contract.

Despite the allegations, Salem selectmen said they stood by their choice. The terms of the contract are unrelated to the e-mails, which most selectmen said they have read.  

Past town manager contracts have not included the probationary period that Sistare will be subject to before being eligible for full severance pay, but officials said this is not a result of Sistare’s past.

“Given that we’ve had so many town managers over the past years, we put it in,” said Selectman Michael Lyons. “We’re tired of buying them out.”

Prior to LaBranche taking over the position in 2004, the town when through a series of town managers who didn’t last long in the position, Lyons said.  This new probationary period is a cautionary measure, he said.

Sistare is set to begin work on Oct. 1 and continue until September 2010. LaBranche will stay on as an adviser to Sistare until December.