Town staff news: Woodruff takes two interim roles; employees vote on contract

January 21, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti

Waterbury town officials shared staffing news on Monday night as they met to prepare for Town Meeting on March 3. 

A new committee that will consider whether to make changes to Waterbury’s Town Meeting practice also gets under way tonight. 

The Waterbury Select Board began its Monday meeting with an announcement by Chair Alyssa Johnson that Public Works Director Bill Woodruff will serve as interim town manager during the transition until a permanent replacement for current town manager Tom Leitz is hired. 

Public Works Director Bill Woodruff will serve as interim municipal manager. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti

“I think it’s incredibly generous of him, owing to how much he loves the town of Waterbury,” Johnson said, noting that various current and former staff have offered to assist Woodruff in the role if needed. “Truly, I’ve only heard only universal positive regard for Woody from staff, community members — we really appreciate it.”

Woodruff, known as “Woody” to co-workers, is a 40-year veteran municipal employee. He attended the first few minutes of the select board meeting for the announcement. “I’m happy to help out, and I take it will provide some continuity to how things move forward,” he said. Offering a bit of his signature sense of humor to the moment, he added, “I’m excited to meet the staff. I hear good things about some of them, the public works director …,” as board and audience members laughed.

Johnson said the board would formalize the arrangement with a contract at its next meeting on Jan. 27.

Leitz last week announced his resignation, with his final day set for Feb. 2. Leitz has served as municipal manager for the past three and a half years. His position includes managing the town staff and operations, as well as the Edward Farrar Utility District, which runs the water and wastewater departments. 

Last week, the utility district commissioners chose Woodruff to be the interim manager for EFUD once Leitz departs. 

Both boards will oversee the processes to recruit and select candidates to fill those roles permanently. 

The municipal staff has had a number of resignations over the past several months. Leitz updated the select board on progress toward filling several openings. He said a new circulation staffer has been hired at the Waterbury Public Library and that an offer was made on Monday to a candidate for the assistant recreation director position. 

The library currently is seeking a new director after Rachel Muse stepped down in December. Assistant Director Michelle Willey is serving as the interim manager for the library. 

Also today, municipal employees will be voting on whether to ratify their first union contract. Staff a year ago petitioned to form a bargaining unit and negotiations took place from June until December. A separate agreement is being negotiated to cover the utility district staff members and is near completion. Commissioners last week said they thought the staff vote on that contract could happen before Leitz leaves on Feb. 2. 

In both cases, the governing boards need to sign off on the agreements once they are approved by the employees. 

Election to fill some roles 

Waterbury Select Board Chair Alyssa Johnson and Mike Bard, a former board chair, are two members who will not run for re-election when their terms end in March. Photo by Gordon Miller

Other openings for town government will be decided in the upcoming Town Meeting Day election on March 3. The deadline for candidates to file to have their names on the election ballot is 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26. 

The list includes the town clerk and treasurer positions, a three-year and two one-year seats on the select board. 

Town Clerk and Treasurer Karen Petrovic resigned on Jan. 2. Assistant Clerk Beth Jones is serving as interim town clerk now, with assistance through early March from former Barre City Clerk Carol Dawes. One year remains on Petrovic’s unexpired terms as clerk and treasurer, which will be on the March ballot. Those positions often are held by the same person, but that is not required. 

Select board members whose terms are ending are Johnson in the three-year seat, and Mike Bard and Tori Taravalla, both in one-year seats. All three have said they do not intend to run for re-election. 

Other offices on the ballot include positions on the Library and Cemetery commissions, the Board of Listers, and two seats on the Harwood Unified Union School District School Board, one for three years, another for one year. 

Candidates for office must submit a petition with signatures of 30 registered Waterbury voters. Candidates who do not make the Jan. 26 deadline may still run as a write-in on Town Meeting Day. 

A full list of offices to be filled by election is posted on the town website home page under News. 

Town Meeting Study Committee 

Pictured with former longtime Town Meeting Moderator Jeff Kilgore, Rebecca Ellis became town moderator in 2024. A former select board chair and state representative, Ellis will lead a new committee to consider revising the town meeting process. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti

Looking beyond this year’s Town Meeting Day, the Waterbury Select Board last week appointed members to a new committee that will consider whether to make changes to how Town Meeting happens in Waterbury in an effort to attract more participation. 

Voters at Town Meeting last year rejected a proposal to end the in-person tradition, where the town budget and other questions are debated and decided by those who attend. Local elections are conducted by paper ballot available all day on Town Meeting Day.

Given that the in-person meeting only attracts a small percentage of local voters – just 5% took part in the 2025 vote on whether to alter the format – the select board has created a committee to study the issue and report back in the fall with potential recommendations. 

Members to the Town Meeting Study Committee were appointed last week. Town Moderator Rebecca Ellis is to chair the group. Eight appointees are: Amy Marshall Carney, Michelle Downing, Kathryn Grace, Evan Karl Hoffman, Anne Imhoff, Valerie Rogers, Liz Schlegel Stevens and Susan Titterton. The select board may appoint up to four additional members after Town Meeting Day for a total of 13. 

The group meets for the first time tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Steele Community Room. It is to have a Zoom option, although an agenda with a link was not posted as of Tuesday morning. The committee has a page on the town website under Boards and Meetings.