Press Release - ENFIELD TOWN MANAGER TAKES POSITION WITH MANSFIELD, CT

ENFIELD TOWN MANAGER TAKES POSITION WITH MANSFIELD, CT

For Immediate Release
September 30, 2020
Contact: Town Manager’s Office 
(603) 632-5026
kdpstewart@enfield.nh.us

Enfield, NH – The Enfield, NH Town Manager Ryan Aylesworth announced his intent to take on the Town Manager role in Mansfield, CT, beginning on December 1, 2020. Aylesworth joined Enfield as Town Manager in 2017 following his service as the first Town Administrator of Hinsdale, MA, and after a career dedicated to public and environmental policy which included time as the President & CEO of Audubon International. Mansfield is a town with a population of more than 26,000 in northern Connecticut and is home to the University of Connecticut.

“We have been extremely fortunate to have someone of Ryan’s caliber as our Town Manager in Enfield,” said Kate Plumley Stewart, Chair of the Enfield Board of Selectmen. “We are sad to see Ryan go, but we know that this is an incredible opportunity for him. In his three plus years in Enfield, he has made significant improvements in our local government – from financial stewardship to strategic planning, modernization of Town Hall, planning and completion of major public works projects, and restructuring of human resources. Enfield is truly better off as a result of Ryan’s leadership.”

When Aylesworth arrived in July of 2017, the Town was struggling with operating deficits and other financial issues, the start of a major public works project (the NH Route 4A sewer extension project), public discontent over inadequate transparency and communications, a lack of department- or town-level strategic planning, dysfunction within one of the Town’s emergency service departments, outdated and obsolete computer hardware/software and overall IT networking, inadequate and deteriorating municipal buildings, and a desire to realize a vision of a town park on the shores of Mascoma Lake. Aylesworth leaves Enfield in a much-improved financial condition with a fiscally prudent fund balance and on a path to eliminate a substantial sewer deficit. He hired a new Police Chief and collaborated to restructure the Police Department to meet current community policing service expectations. He engaged multiple professional resources, including the Center for Strategic Governance and Municipal Resources Inc. to increase strategic planning throughout the Town, and hired a Land Use and Community Development Administrator who will be instrumental in updating the Town’s Master Plan. Among many other projects, Aylesworth helped lead numerous grant efforts, including a successful initiative that resulted in Mascoma Lakeside Park, which included the acquisition of lakefront property between Mascoma Lake and the Rail Trail and the building of a pavilion and outdoor recreation space which is currently in process.

“The last several years have been incredibly enjoyable and fulfilling, and I am very proud of all that has been accomplished during my tenure as Town Manager,” said Aylesworth. “The reality is that these successes are a result of the combined efforts of many individuals in Town Hall and beyond. We have adopted much needed policies and updated many others, initiated the delivery of new municipal services, completed numerous significant public works projects, made improvements to the annual budgeting and capital planning processes, acquired a wide variety of competitive grants, and enhanced mass communications. Enfield as a community is everything I could have hoped it would be for me
professionally, as well as for my family.”

According to Stewart, “the next Enfield Town Manager will have the opportunity to move a series of exciting projects forward that have been fully researched, vetted, and teed up for the realization phase. We look forward to finding the right person to work with us to continue the progress that we have made over the past three years.”

The Enfield Board of Selectmen will conduct a review of past hiring practices and discuss options to move forward with a search in their next publicly-noticed meeting. 

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