A selection process will be set up by the Raymond Select Board in the coming weeks to identify candidates and interviews for the town manager position.
Raymond Town Manager Sue Look, who has been serving in that role since January 2024 has resigned, citing more than an hour’s commute from her home in Richmond.
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| Raymond Town Manager Sue Look, left, has resigned and will be leaving her position on March 21. The Raymond Select Board has appointed Raymond Parks and Recreation Director Joe Crocker, right, as Interim Town Manager until a new permanent Town Manager can be chosen. FILE PHOTOS |
She had worked as Raymond Town Clerk for more than a decade prior to her serving in the town manager’s position. Look was born in Lewiston and has worked for the Town of Raymond since July 2014. She formerly served as the Town Clerk for the Town of West Bath and she was originally hired by Willard to replace longtime town clerk Louise Lester who was retiring at the time.
The Town Manager is a fulltime position appointed by the Raymond Select Board and is responsible for administering the policies as established by the Select Board and the Town Charter. The Town Manager serves as the chief administrative officer and head of the administrative branch of the town’s government.
The position’s duties include executive direction and supervision of the administrative services of the town and overseeing the finances of the town. The town manager also is responsible for implementing all town policies and providing all Town of Raymond staff with clear and efficient operating procedures necessary to conduct their assigned tasks.
Other duties of the town manager are to attend and participate in all meetings of the Raymond Select Board, work with the Raymond Budget and Finance Committee in developing an annual town budget, and work with the Select Board to meet the process requirements in time for the annual Town Meeting and tax bill preparation.
The Raymond Town Manager creates and submits to the Select Board an Annual Town report to distribute at the Annual Town Meeting in June, develops and updates annually a five-year Capital Improvement Plan for presentation to the Select Board, and stays up to date with changes in Maine state regulations that could affect town ordinances, policies, and budget. The town manager is responsible for submission of applications for state, federal and other grants for the benefit of the municipality, as approved by the Select Board.
To fill in until a new permanent town manager can be hired, the Raymond Select Board has appointed Raymond Parks and Recreation Director Joe Crocker as Raymond’s interim town manager.
Crocker, 37, joined the Town of Raymond as Parks and Recreation in February 2020 and essentially built the town’s recreation program from the ground up.
He attended Saint Joseph’s College, where he earned a degree in Exercise Science and then continued his studies at New England College in New Hampshire, earning an MBA in Sports and Recreation Management.
Among his many duties as Parks and Recreation Director, Crocker has managed improvements that the Town of Raymond has made to Tassel Top Park and facilities there and providing recreational activities and overseeing a department budget to meet resident needs.
Crocker said he will be a candidate for the permanent town manager position.
“I plan to apply, and if selected, I would be honored to serve the town in this new capacity,” he said. “If the Select Board decides to hire externally, I will gladly continue serving the community as the Parks and Recreation Director.”
Look’s final day with the Town of Raymond will be March 21. <
