EAST LONGMEADOW – The Town Council recently approved Town Manager Denise Menard’s three-year contract by a unanimous vote. Menard would be paid $127,500 per year by the town.

Menard was initially chosen to serve as interim town manager in July 2016 and in December 2016 the council decided to hire her on a permanent basis. She was one of three finalists for the job, which included Thomas Guerino, the town administrator of Bourne, and Harwich Town Administrator Christopher Clark.

Town Council President Kevin Manley told Reminder Publications the contract was negotiated during the course of two meetings.

“It kind of got delayed a little bit just based on [the language of the contract], but there were no major stumbling blocks,” he explained.

Menard said the council agreed to waive a residency requirement for her first year on the job. She has been a resident of Enfield, CT, for 38 years.

“The overall contract is a three-year with a review at 12 months where we’ll revisit the residency requirement,” Manley stated. “Although Denise did say that she was willing to move to East Longmeadow, her performance so far, the six months that she’s been here, where she lives hasn’t impacted her performance here whatsoever. It’s a lot to ask somebody to move and relocate for a position that is a three-year deal.”

He added the council might decide to either enforce the residency requirement or scrap it.

Manley said he’s happy with the contract and believes it is fair.

“Just generally I think she was treated fairly,” he noted.

As the permanent town manager, Menard would have more responsibility regarding overseeing the town on a day-to-day basis compared to the interim position, Manley said.

“It takes a little of the responsibility off the council as far as that goes and puts more responsibility on Denise,” he explained. “As far as day-to-day operations go we now have some work ahead of us … It’s a good change and she’s doing a good job. Right now, I think we’re in very good shape.”

Menard listed some of her top goals for the near future, including developing the fiscal year 2018 (FY18) budget, which she said would be presented to the council sometime in late March or early April, and hiring a director of finance and a director of planning and development.

Manley said he believes the council and Menard have developed a strong working relationship.

“We’re working really good together and we’re tackling a lot of projects at once,” Manley said. “It’s a very good relationship.”