Town Manager

Office of the Town Manager is responsible for overall day-to-day management of Town government. Manchester operates under a Selectboard-Town Manager form of government, whereby the elected Selectboard serves as the Town’s chief elected legislative body; the Town Manager reports to the Selectboard and acts as the municipality’s chief administrative officer. Under this system of government, the Selectboard sets policy and the Town Manager implements policy and oversees the day-to-day operations of town government. The Town Manager does not supervise independently elected or appointed officers, such as the Town Clerk, Treasurer, Moderator and the School District.

Statutorily, a Town Manager’s duties include, among other things, general supervision of town government, administrative head of all departments; all duties not committed to another office; general purchasing agent; management of all town buildings including school buildings upon requisition of the board of school directors; acting as the road commissioner; town accounting; management of the police and fire departments (including appointments, removals and salaries); collector of taxes; managing Town licenses (other than those issued by the town clerk); overseeing the sewer system; overseeing street lighting; and managing the maintenance of parks. In Manchester, the Town Manager also serves as the tax collector and delinquent tax collector.

The Town of Manchester operates under a Selectboard-Town Manager form of government, whereby the elected Selectboard serves as the Town’s chief elected legislative body; the Town Manager reports to the Selectboard and acts as the municipality’s chief administrative officer. Under this system of government, the Selectboard sets policy and the Town Manager implements policy and oversees the day-to-day operations of town government.  Scott Murphy was appointed as Town Manager by the Selectboard, effective March 20,2023

Scott's Biography
Scott was Town Manager in Ludlow for five years, after five years as Wilmington’s Town Manager. Scott previously served as a community and economic developer for the town of Bennington, as branch manager for Bennington Savings and Loan, in Manchester and as commercial lender at Chittenden Bank. He also owned and operated Bennington Bagel for 16 years.  Scott and his family reside in Bennington and continues to be very active with sports and other outdoor activities.

Since 1941 Manchester has had twelve Town Managers. Former Town Managers include W. Robinson Martin (1941-1945), William A. Griffith (1945-1947), George A. Randall (1947-1954), Walter J. Leland (1954-1956), Oakley Porter (1956-1965 and 1971-1974), James Woodard (1965-1969), Walter R. Hazard (1969-1970), Hank Lambert (1975-1979), Harry Henderson (1980-1985), Jeff Wilson (1986 to 2003), Peter Webster (2003 to 2006) and John P. O’Keefe (2007 to 2022).