Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons has gotten two more years in the job and a $20,000 a year raise. The raise, retroactive to July 1, brings his yearly salary to $105,000, Simmons said in response to questions Wiscasset Newspaper asked over Zoom after selectmen’s decision at the town office Nov. 15.

The vote followed a pair of executive sessions that together took about an hour and a half; the first, to consult with legal counsel; the other, a personnel matter. The contract extension starts July 1, 2023, so Simmons will now be in the job through June 30, 2025, he and board members said.

Selectmen announced Simmons’ hire as town manager in July 2020, 18 months into his service as Wiscasset’s emergency services director, according to Wiscasset Newspaper files.

Also Nov. 15, responding to a board question, Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Robert Lalli predicted Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Olver Associates, which drafted a climate adaptation plan for the town, would welcome having someone from the board at a meeting tentatively set for Dec. 5. That could be when the town learns if DEP would prefer the town build a wall around the plant or move it, Lalli said.

Selectmen approved automobile graveyard and/or junkyard permit renewals for Blagden’s Garage, Grover Auto & Tire, and Norm’s Used Cars; a liquor license for Back River Bistro; the Lincoln County animal control service contract and Northeast Trade Services’ request to lease more office space at Wiscasset Municipal Airport; and nodded Simmons to seek more offers on a plow truck the town is selling. 

In his written report released ahead of the meeting, Simmons noted work has started on Wawenock Block’s exterior and the Sunken Garden wall project is done except for some landscaping.