Clinton Select Board Votes 4-1 to Hire Karen Clark as Town Administrator

CLINTON -- April 1, 2026, Clinton Select Board picks Karen Clark as next town administrator in a 4-1 vote. The board debated at length whether Clark, currently a town administrator in Millbury, offered a stronger overall profile than a competing finalist identified only as Alex, whom members Bill Conley and one colleague argued held a decisive edge in public finance and capital planning experience. Supporters cited Clark's record of closing a $1.6 million budget overrun in Millbury, leading collective bargaining without outside counsel, and what the chair called consistent "tie-breaking" intangibles during the review. An initial 3-2 vote was immediately reconsidered in hopes of building unanimity; the second tally held at 4-1. The board also approved a $217,675 engineering estimate authorizing the DPW to solicit bids for retaining wall repairs at 423 and 451 Wilson Street, raised water and sewer connection fees for the first time in an unspecified number of years, and heard Council on Aging Director Laura Taylor disclose a surprise $43,000 cost to resolve a capped water line that is blocking the nearly complete Carriage House from opening.