Town manager resigns, effective Feb. 2; Waterbury’s staff exodus continues
January 13, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti This post was updated at 6:15 p.m.
A little more than three years after he became Waterbury’s municipal manager, Thomas Leitz told the town’s elected leaders and community members Monday night that he’s resigning.
Waterbury Municipal Manager Tom Leitz at an October public meeting at the Main Street fire station. Photo by Gordon Miller
Speaking from home over a video connection to the Waterbury Select Board Monday night, Leitz said he’s been thinking about ending his tenure with the town since last summer. “I have found another opportunity that I’m really excited about,” he said, proposing his final day be Feb. 2. “I could join you for one last select board meeting that Monday,” he said.
In an interview on Tuesday, Leitz said he will be making a move to the private sector, but did not share further details.
Those listening to the news included a handful of community members gathered in the Steele Community Room and even more viewing the meeting online, including commissioners of the Edward Farrar Utility District which runs the municipal water and wastewater departments. Leitz’ letter of resignation to both the select board and utility district commissioners is dated Jan. 5. The boards did not share that news publicly before Monday’s select board meeting.
Leitz’ departure is the latest in a long line of resignations from the town staff since the fall. It follows the Dec. 23 resignation of Waterbury Public Library Director Rachel Muse. Town Clerk and Treasurer Karen Petrovic stepped down on Dec. 31. Other recent resignations have included the town’s zoning administrator, both Recreation Department employees, a bookkeeper, and a library staffer. A second library employee – Youth Services Librarian Sandra Schweikert – left after the Library Commission and Select Board approved a separation agreement in December.
Leitz was hired in September 2022 to serve as both Waterbury’s town manager and the utility district manager. He worked alongside former town manager Bill Shepeluk for two months, transitioning into the role at the start of 2023 as Shepeluk retired after 34 years as the town’s top manager.
Soon after the July 2023 flood, Waterbury Manager Tom Leitz on flooded Elm Street. File photo
At Monday’s select board meeting, Leitz spoke for several minutes, reflecting on his choice to move on at this time, emphasizing that a key reason for his move is to find a better balance between work and family. “It weighs on you at some point – you want to have some semblance of work-life balance,” he said in an interview Tuesday morning. “It’s been a lot harder to manage than I ever thought.”
He also shared that he’s had some health issues that have cropped up, including in the past few days, making him unable to attend Saturday’s public meeting about the town budget and Monday’s select board meeting. Looking back on his three-plus years in the position, Leitz reflected on a highlight.
“I’ll never forget the three floods, two of which happened on my birthday. Those were very memorable birthdays,” he said. “Difficult as those were, they really brought out the best in Waterbury. Working alongside the board members, staff, and all of those volunteers really showed how great and strong the sense of community is here. So, despite the challenge of it all, it was really a wonderful experience personally and professionally.”
Given the relative short notice before he moves on, Leitz asked both of the municipal boards to release him from a contractual obligation that he give the municipality 90 days and the utility district 60 days’ notice before leaving his post.
The select board voted unanimously to approve the request. The utility commissioners meet on Wednesday and will address the matter, Chair Skip Flanders said. Both governing boards signed a new three-year contract with Leitz last summer that contained the notice provisions. The contract included a salary of $125,611 that increased to $129,379 in November with cost-of-living increases promised in subsequent years. Select board member Mike Bard, in voting on the contract release, noted there would be no financial penalty for the town moving forward as Leitz proposed.
Select Board Chair Alyssa Johnson acknowledged the challenge ahead, given that Leitz will be leaving well in advance of a successor being hired. “Speaking for myself as chair, and as someone who has served on the board for what’s now my fourth year, the timing of this is a little daunting,” she said.
Tom Leitz’s letter of resignation. Click to enlarge.
The select board unanimously approved contracting with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns for assistance in recruiting and hiring an interim manager who can take over upon Leitz’s departure, as well as a permanent replacement. The municipal support organization assisted Waterbury with the process to hire Leitz, which took about eight months after Shepeluk announced his plans to retire at the end of 2022. The select board and utility commission worked that year with a consultant from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns through a process that involved a hiring committee of elected and appointed town leaders and community members who ultimately chose Leitz for the role.
In his resignation letter, Leitz pledges to document his work and leave behind a transition plan. “I certainly want to see that our major projects come to fruition without undue delay, and I also want to ensure full preparations are made for Town Meeting Day.”
The hiring task ahead comes as Waterbury’s Select Board is poised to undergo significant turnover of its own. Terms of three of the five positions on the board – two one-year seats and a three-year seat – are up for election on Town Meeting Day on March 3. So far, all three incumbents in those positions have said they do not plan to run for re-election. Those are board Chair Alyssa Johnson, who is ending a three-year term and served one year prior; Mike Bard, who is ending a one-year term, but has been on the board for seven years; and Tori Taravella, who was just elected to the board for the first time in 2025. Candidates seeking to be on the March 3 ballot for the Town Meeting Day election have until Jan. 26 to file petitions and consent forms.
Waterbury Municipal Manager Tom Leitz speaks at a public meeting at the American Legion. File photo
Mistakes mixed with accomplishments
In reflecting on his time as municipal manager, Leitz told the Monday select board audience that it was a challenge to go into a job held for decades by his predecessor – a point made by Waterbury resident and state Rep. Theresa Wood at the Dec. 15 select board meeting, which was held soon after the town clerk announced her resignation.
Leitz at that meeting spoke at length, addressing the rash of staff resignations and human resources challenges he faced. He explained in detail various employee policy changes he’s overseen in his tenure, such as adding paid holidays and a personal day into the work schedule, adding vision and dental benefits, paid family leave and a policy where employees could request cash for accrued time off in the event of a personal emergency need. Leitz also significantly updated the employee handbook.
Despite those positive additions, Leitz acknowledged missteps in making changes to the town’s employee health insurance coverage in the fall of 2024, changes he said contributed to staff petitioning to form a labor union a year ago.
“Did I roll that out appropriately with enough foresight with enough communication? Probably not 100%... And so I have to own that,” he said. “I've made some mistakes. I think I've learned from that.”
Multiple community members, including current and former employees, commented at that meeting. Conservation Commission Chair Amy Marshall-Carney called for more transparency around the staffing issues, suggesting that the causes of so many resignations go beyond changes in health care benefits.
Select Board members Alyssa Johnson and Roger Clapp confer with Manager Tom Leitz at a budget preview meeting in 2025. Photo by Gordon Miller
Elizabeth Brown asked the board to share more with the community. “When you're dealing with 15 to 20% attrition in an organization, there's a much bigger systemic problem. And I'm sure you're covering it in executive session, but you owe it to the public to let them know what is really going on here and deal with the leadership issues,” Brown said.
Looking ahead, Leitz, on Dec. 15 and again on Monday, expressed optimism about the labor contracts that have been the subject of negotiations since June for both municipal and utility district workers. The agreements with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union – known as AFSCME – are very close to completion. Leitz said he expects votes will be held to ratify them before he leaves on Feb. 2. The proposed town budget for 2026 also contains $15,000 for the town to work with a human resources consultant.
Leitz pointed to ongoing projects that a successor will inherit including flood mitigation efforts for Randall Meadow, efforts to create housing at the former Stanley-Wasson property at the state complex and on town land behind Brookside Primary School, as well as a major water line extension in Waterbury Center. “These don’t need to stop in my absence,” he said.
In more personal remarks, Leitz credited the community members who serve in local government who “really work hard to do their best” at a time when, “civility has gotten worse.”
He praised the elected members of the select board, utility district commission, and library and cemetery commissions in particular. “The really do deserve a lot of praise and appreciation. Their dedication should really be commended,” he said.
Select board members thanked Leitz for his service. Member Roger Clapp pointed to efforts in the past couple of years that the manager oversaw to establish a local option tax, set up a natural disaster preparedness structure, and launch the affordable housing project at the site of the former town offices on South Main Street that is nearing completion.
Volunteering at Green Up in 2023, Tom Leitz checks out a find picked up by Marcy Pelkey. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
EFUD Commissioner Cindy Parks highlighted several accomplishments by Leitz that may not have gotten wide attention such as helping to keep water and wastewater rates stable. “Tom was instrumental in securing $2.8 million in grants – not loans – for the East Wind pipeline project,” she said, referring to the water line extension. “I haven’t met any other municipal managers … who have been able to secure 100% grant money for an infrastructure project, so thank you for that. Also, I’ve been struck by your desire to tackle problems head on and use creative solutions where needed. I value your critical thinking skills and I will miss that.”
Rick Weston, the utility commission’s newest member having joined that board less than two years ago, credited Leitz for having the “highest professionalism” in his role. Weston lives on Union Street, which has been flooded multiple times in the past several years. “You may not remember the first time we met but it was in an act of public service,” he said to Leitz, recounting how the manager delivered a dehumidifier to his flooded home after the July 2023 flood. “That was an act that was much appreciated.”
Interim staffing moves
Many of the recent municipal staff departures are being addressed with new hires of permanent and interim employees.
The select board has appointed part-time Assistant Town Clerk Beth Jones as interim town clerk. That role is an elected position, and the final year of Petrovic’s unexpired term will be on the March 3 election ballot. Bill Shepeluk, former town manager, has been appointed to serve as interim town treasurer, which likewise is an elected position previously held by Petrovic; its final year in her unexpired term will also be on the March ballot.
In addition to Jones, the select board has hired former Barre City Clerk Carol Dawes to work through March 13 to assist mainly with duties related to the upcoming Town Meeting Day elections and meeting. Jones said she’s now working full-time for now, with Dawes working part-time. Town clerk services are still following the customary 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily schedule, she said.
Another key hire has been Cheryl Casey, who has been serving in several contracted roles, taking select board minutes, editing a municipal newsletter, and assisting with Housing Task Force projects. Casey started in the zoning administrator position last month. Likewise, Erika Linskey started as recreation director on Dec. 31 and will be working to fill the assistant recreation director position.
Library transitions
File photo by Lisa Scagliotti
The Waterbury Public Library also is working through staff transitions after Director Rachel Muse resigned on Dec. 23. Muse joined the Waterbury library during the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2021 after working at the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington. The library expanded its programming with regular offerings that have expanded the library’s reach into the community, such as its Queer Reads program for adolescents and teens and the Silent Reading Parties in collaboration with Bridgeside Books.
Leitz commented on Muse’s departure, saying he was sorry to see her leave. “I loved working with Rachel. I think there was a lot of mutual respect there,” he said.
He pointed out that library staff received raises when he became municipal manager “to bring them up to parity” with employees at similar-sized libraries in Vermont. Yet, Leitz also acknowledged personnel challenges at the library.
Outreach Librarian DeAnna Romstad resigned in the fall. Several weeks later, Youth Services Librarian Sandra Schweikert was put on administrative leave. In December, the Library Commission and Select Board entered a separation agreement with Schweikert. Both boards approved that on Dec. 22. Leitz said the agreement was for approximately $18,000 as a combination of severance pay and three months of health benefits coverage.
Library Commission Chair Anna Black acknowledged that the departure of Schweikert prompted many messages to Muse and the library commission. She said she wasn’t at liberty to discuss the personnel matter in further detail, but she wanted to emphasize that the commissioners received the feedback from parents and childrens’ groups. “We read them all,” Black said.
The outreach coordinator position has been filled with an internal hire, Black said. Patron Services Librarian Anathe Parkes has outreach duties added to her role. The staff shuffling opened up a circulation assistant position, which was likely to be filled imminently, Black noted late last week.
Waterbury Public Library Director Rachel Muse stepped down in late December. File photo
The Library Commission recently appointed Michelle Willey, the library’s assistant director, as acting director until a new director can be hired. The commission meets monthly on the second Monday of the month. Black said she hopes there could be director candidates to review by February. A new director would handle filling the children’s librarian position, she added.
All of the changes have been stressful on the remaining staff, the commission and volunteers, Black noted. “It’s always hard when you lose staff, especially staff you love,” she said.
The short-staffing means some programming changes in the short term. Evening hours on Mondays have been cut back from 8 p.m. to 5 p.m. No other hours have been changed, Black noted.
Children’s and youth programming is somewhat curtailed until a new Youth Services Librarian can be hired. Black said Parkes is taking on some of those events. “We’re trying to continue the storytimes,” Black said.
The library staff would welcome community volunteers who might be able to help lead some of the popular activities until the library is back up to full staff, Black said. Anyone interested should contact Willey.
“And we still want people to come to the library for programs and books, and to use all of our online services,” Black said.