Marshfield Select Board Delays Town Administrator Decision After Interviewing Two Finalists
MARSHFIELD - December 1 and 2 - The Select Board interviewed two town administrator finalists December 2 but declined to make an immediate hiring decision, instead scheduling a special meeting for December 10 to allow time for deliberation on what Chair Eric Kelley called “a big decision” that “should not be rushed.”
The Full Story
Carl E. Geffken and Leilani Dalpe presented vastly different professional backgrounds during hour-long interviews before the three-member board, answering detailed questions about fiscal management, economic development, school budgets, and their visions for Marshfield’s future. Both candidates also met earlier that afternoon with department heads and union leaders, whose feedback will be compiled and provided to board members before the December 10 decision meeting.
“I just want to make a few comments here,” Kelley said at the meeting’s opening. “I want to let everyone know that in this process we have two candidates that have resumes that are very different. I speak for myself that a portion of my questions will be based on the candidates’ resumes, and the other questions will be asked of both. This is a big decision for the Select Board to make.”
Kelley emphasized that the three-year contract term specified in the town charter warranted careful consideration. “If anyone is wondering why I did not schedule a vote tonight, the reason being is I felt this is a decision that should not be rushed,” he explained. “I feel the Select Board should take the time to think about this decision. We need to be confident in the direction we choose to go in.”
Carl E. Geffken: Addressing Fort Smith Departure
Geffken, who interviewed first at 6:00 PM, opened by directly addressing his December 2024 departure from Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he served nearly nine years as city administrator. “Last December, I was let go for an errant comment that was made, but not made by me,” Geffken stated. “There are 11 microphones in the meeting room, and the camera was on me for the meeting when the comment was made, and my mouth did not move. But the board of directors, after almost two years of rumors of them wanting to get rid of me, and despite an evaluation in the month prior, in November of 24, that I was high performing and excellent, there was a decision to relieve me.”
Geffken detailed over 30 years of public administration experience, beginning with the New York City Department of Health where he oversaw budgets exceeding $1 billion with 5,200 employees and over 100 funding streams. His career included positions at the New York City Department of Investigation and work as director of finance and later managing director for Reading, Pennsylvania, where he confronted severe fiscal challenges.
“When I started in 2009, the budget was somewhat balanced using one-time funds, but for the 2010 budget, there was a $75 million of projected general fund spending with only $60 million worth of revenues to support it,” Geffken explained. He described successfully reversing a projected $15 million deficit through strategic budget reductions, revenue increases, and creating a nonprofit to manage parks operations more efficiently. “We were able to expand our park service, even though we reduced our budget,” he noted.
Geffken emphasized his collaborative management style. “I’m never too busy to speak to especially any department head or any employee,” he said. “I frequently go to each department to learn firsthand from the department head and from the employees what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, what their successes are and what their issues are.” He described giving department heads wide latitude to innovate while maintaining regular communication with both staff and elected officials.
On communication with residents, Geffken highlighted implementing GovDelivery in Fort Smith, which allowed residents to subscribe to updates on 31 different topics from press releases to department-specific information. “We could get out information much faster than we could by using the old-fashioned press release method,” he said. “It really did help our residents and family members of residents around the country to learn about what Fort Smith was working on.”
When asked about layoffs in Reading, Geffken acknowledged eliminating unfilled positions and implementing a hiring freeze, though he noted the police union contract prevented reductions in that department initially. He described Reading’s designation as the poorest city in the country with a population over 50,000 and his successful application for Pennsylvania’s Act 47 financially distressed municipalities program.
Geffken spent four years as chief operating officer for Berks County, overseeing veterans affairs, a nursing home, jail, mental health services, and children and youth programs before moving to Fort Smith to be closer to extended family in Arkansas. He described a multi-year budget projection system he implemented, similar to New York City’s approach. “Every town or city should do this so you can see a cliff coming before it actually hits,” Geffken stated.
Leilani Dalpe: Tourism and Grant Expertise
Dalpe interviewed second just after 7:00 PM, describing public administration as her second career after working as a musician with a master’s degree in music. “I got a call from the town clerk one day that said I had won, and apparently I had gone to too many meetings and asked too many questions, and I was written in as a finance committee member without me knowing,” Dalpe explained of her entry into Middleborough government. “So I figured if the people of Middleborough wanted me to do this, I would step up and do it.”
Dalpe served three terms on Middleborough’s Select Board, chairing for her final three years, before pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree during COVID. She worked as assistant to Weymouth’s chief of staff before taking her current position as grant administrator, procurement specialist, and project manager for Tighe & Bond, an engineering firm serving municipal clients. “I am getting it this month, just so you know,” Dalpe said of completing her MPA degree. “But I finished my final paper, learned an incredible amount.”
Throughout her interview, Dalpe repeatedly emphasized tourism as an underutilized economic development tool for Marshfield. “I’m also on the Plymouth County Development Council, and tourism is a really big asset that I think is oftentimes overlooked,” she told the board. “The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism has statistics that show for every dollar that a town invests in tourism, $8 is brought back to the community.”
Dalpe suggested Marshfield capitalize on its location between Plymouth and Boston ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations in 2026. “This is where the revolution started. The state and the country is investing big time in pushing forth 250 tourism,” she said. “You have the fairgrounds. Reenactments would be phenomenal there. You already have not only you have pillars for tourism attractions, so you have the attractions, you have the beaches, but you also have a lot of facilities in place.”
On fiscal management, Dalpe detailed her experience developing annual budgets and five-year capital plans in both Middleborough and Weymouth. “I meet with every department all the time. I’m right on it all the time. And I listen,” she said. “I don’t necessarily know exactly the function of every department and how they’re doing things best. And so that’s one thing I learned over the last few years, don’t assume, listen, and find out why.”
Dalpe earned her MCPPO procurement certification and described extensive experience drafting RFPs, reviewing contracts, and managing the bidding process. “I would help to draft the RFPs. I would review the contracts. I would ensure that we had the correct advertising for whichever project we were doing,” she explained, noting she recently recertified in March.
When Kelley asked about tackling Marshfield’s school budget challenges, Dalpe acknowledged it as “a common problem” and said sometimes administrators must simply say no. “We had grants that paid for extra instructors outside the curriculum, and when those grants ran out and there was no money to replenish that, the schools wanted to keep them, and we just had to say no,” she said of her Weymouth experience. She suggested creative solutions like restructuring transportation costs and starting early, honest conversations between school and municipal government.
Dalpe described herself as “a really big advocate of tourism” and emphasized grant acquisition as a budget strategy. “They used to call me the grant guru, $20 million a year, not counting ARPA,” she said. “So I went after grants aggressively, federal, local, state, private, and that helped to supplement almost all the or pay for entirely most of the infrastructure projects we did.”
On the MBTA Communities Act zoning requirements, Dalpe said she fought the mandate in Middleborough. “I think the state tried to apply a one-size-fits-all solution, and it didn’t fit most of the communities,” she stated. “They tried to apply city-like regulations to rural or suburban areas, and they said they weren’t going to do that.” She expressed belief that “the state needs to stay out of town’s business. Towns know their zoning better.”
Dalpe described one of her toughest career decisions as standing alone against her four fellow Middleborough Select Board members to advocate for funding a Veterans Department clerical position approved by town meeting. “The town wanted to budget. It was in the budget. But for some reason, the rest of the select board didn’t want to do it,” she recalled. “And I was new on the select board, too, and I had to stand up and vote against them. That was one of the hardest ones. But I still think it was the right vote.”
She also described persisting against opposition from planners and administrators in Weymouth to secure funding for a failing revetment walk between beaches. “Everybody was against me, from planners to the administration. Ted was against me. The mayor was. Everybody was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And I held my ground,” Dalpe said. “We did get the funding. I got them the funding. It’s finishing up now.”
When asked if she would live in Marshfield, Dalpe said no. “I’m 25 minutes from here. I built my own house. I’m not leaving it. My four dogs would be very upset,” she responded. She indicated she could begin work in January if selected, wanting time to set up the department she started at her current engineering firm.
Dalpe explained she applied because “having been away from government and municipal government and working in it, I’m not happy. Bottom line, I wanted back in.” She noted Marshfield’s similarity to Middleborough in size and budget, and its coastal character. “I would be happy here. I would be very happy here,” she concluded.
Board Discussion and Next Steps
Following Dalpe’s interview, Select Board members Trish Simpson and Steve Darcy briefly discussed scheduling. Simpson expressed satisfaction with the process, noting the Wednesday, December 10 meeting would give adequate time for deliberation. Interim Town Administrator Charlie Sumner confirmed that feedback from department heads and union leaders who met with both candidates earlier in the day would be compiled and distributed to board members before the decision meeting.
At the meeting’s close, Kelley thanked the search committee members present. “I thought the two candidates you put forward seemed pretty damn good to me,” he said. “So, it’s going to be some tough decisions to make at the end of the day.”
December 1 Meeting: Routine Business
The previous evening’s shorter Select Board meeting addressed several routine matters. The board set the annual town meeting warrant opening and closing dates, with articles accepted between January 5 and January 26, 2026, for the April 27, 2026 town meeting at Marshfield High School. Kelley asked Sumner to confirm the school has the dates reserved and ensure no conflicts with sports or other activities.
The board approved the Recreational Trails Committee’s second annual Webster’s Wilderness MTB Classic mountain bike race for Sunday, January 11, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with a storm makeup date of January 18. The race will accommodate 55 riders ages 12 to adult on existing trails throughout Webster’s Wilderness, with proceeds benefiting trail maintenance and improvements. Race director Jeff Wilson and Recreational Trails Committee Chair Ned Bangs explained that last year’s inaugural event received positive feedback.
The board conducted three pole hearings and one liquor license hearing during the meeting. Sumner provided an update on developing a taxation aid committee as voted at spring 2025 town meeting, noting he would create a flyer insert for quarterly tax bills to allow voluntary donations while the committee structure is formalized.
Kelley raised concerns about a potential grant application policy but decided against putting it to a vote after discussion with Darcy and Simpson. The issue centered on whether the Select Board should review all grant applications before submission, particularly those requiring matching funds from the town. Darcy argued that existing gatekeeping mechanisms through the warrant process and town meeting approval provide adequate oversight. “At the end of the day, if there is a grant that requires matching funding, you know, we would first have to put that on the warrant as the gatekeepers and then town meeting as our legislative body would have to approve it as well,” Darcy said.
Kelley expressed concern about past high-dollar grants requiring substantial town matching funds but agreed to further discussions with Sumner before potentially bringing a revised policy forward. “I just don’t know what the future brings when we may not be here and everything falls back to the way it was,” Kelley stated. Simpson suggested emphasizing grant discussions at regular department head meetings to keep everyone informed. The board entered executive session at the December 1 meeting’s conclusion to discuss police union collective bargaining matters.
Simpson opened the December 1 meeting by recognizing Barbara Roach, whose funeral service was held that day. Simpson noted that Roach and her husband Pat “were very generous to the town over the years” and that “the Boys and Girls Club was made possible in large part due to their generosity.”
Why It Matters
The town administrator position represents Marshfield’s most significant administrative role, overseeing day-to-day municipal operations and implementing Select Board policies. The position has been filled on an interim basis since the departure of the town’s previous long-time administrator. The December 10 decision meeting will determine whether Marshfield hires a candidate with extensive out-of-state city management experience in larger, financially distressed communities or a Massachusetts-based administrator emphasizing tourism development and grant acquisition. Both candidates bring decades of public sector experience but reflect fundamentally different approaches to municipal management, with Geffken’s background focused on budget crisis resolution and Dalpe’s local experience emphasizing economic development through tourism and aggressive grant pursuit. The three-year contract term means the decision will shape Marshfield’s administrative direction through at least 2028.
Meeting Minutes - December 1, 2025
Key Motions & Votes
Motion: Vote to post notice of opening and closing of annual town meeting warrant between January 5, 2026 and January 26, 2026. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 6:24)
Motion: Approve Recreational Trails Committee’s second annual Webster’s Wilderness MTB Classic on January 11, 2026. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 9:19)
Motion: Close pole hearing for 171 Canal Street. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 1:37:51)
Motion: Enter executive session to discuss police union collective bargaining and adjourn from executive session. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 1:39:13)
What’s Next - December 1
Annual town meeting scheduled for April 27, 2026 at Marshfield High School. Warrant articles accepted January 5-26, 2026. Webster’s Wilderness MTB Classic scheduled for January 11, 2026. Board will continue discussions on potential grant application policy.
Meeting Minutes - December 2, 2025
Key Motions & Votes
Motion: Adjourn meeting. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous. (Timestamp: 2:05:46)
What’s Next - December 2
Special Select Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM to vote on town administrator selection. Interim Town Administrator Charlie Sumner will compile and distribute feedback from department heads and union leaders who met with both candidates December 2 afternoon.