WHATELY — With the impending departure of Town Administrator Brian Domina, the Selectboard is planning to find an interim solution while the town undergoes the extended process of finding a permanent replacement.

Domina, who has served as Whately’s town administrator since July 2016, will become Hampden’s town administrator. He will work his last day in Whately on March 4.

“Hampden is a larger community that presents exciting and challenging opportunities, and I look forward to beginning my work there,” Domina wrote in an email Wednesday. “It’s been a pleasure to serve the town of Whately and I’m proud of all the things that we accomplished together over the past seven years.”

The first priority, Selectboard member Joyce Palmer-Fortune said, is to figure out who will handle Domina’s duties in the short term, especially because it is budget season and Annual Town Meeting is only a few months away. Domina said he expects to have the first draft of the fiscal year 2025 budget completed by the time he leaves, which will mean the town will only have to tweak it from there.

“It’s our budget season and it’s really important to have someone that’s on top of it,” Palmer-Fortune said. “I really think we should try to hire someone who can fill in for a few months.”

In the short term, that means posting the job vacancy as soon as possible to begin the extended search process, while also determining what options are available as the town navigates the busiest part of the municipal schedule.

Palmer-Fortune said two names came to mind for the interim role: Lynn Sibley, who has served as town administrator in the past, along with numerous other roles over four decades, but has scaled back to just part-time work in Whately; and Wendy Foxmyn, who previously served as Deerfield’s town administrator.

“Has anyone put this bug in Lynn’s ear? … Did she run from the room screaming?” Palmer-Fortune joked about asking Sibley to return to such an intense role after leaving full-time work last year, to which Domina said she would likely be willing to help in some aspects of the role. He noted hiring an interim from outside the town offices will also require posting the job.

Another option, Domina said, would be to split duties among all existing town staff members, however, that could only be sustained for a short period of time because they have their own responsibilities.

“If it’s going to be a month or two and if people are willing, of course, they can cover,” Domina said. “If it’s going to be time beyond that, it’ll be a little harder to ask.”

“I think we should seek an interim person as soon as possible,” added Selectboard member Julianna Waggoner.

A job posting for the interim position was posted Wednesday afternoon and a review of candidates is expected to begin on Feb. 21.

In the long term, the Selectboard signaled its intention to set up a candidate screening committee to look through applicants for the permanent role. The committee would be made up of Selectboard Chair Fred Baron, Treasurer/Collector Amy Schrader and Police Chief James Sevigne Jr.

“I think we need to put out a call and let it be known there’s a vacancy, get some resumes in and see how many we get,” Baron said, adding that they need to get moving “as soon as possible.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.