The Search Begins in Oak Bluffs

Who would want to be town administrator in Oak Bluffs, anyway?

The question has become more than rhetorical with last week’s resignation of Michael Dutton, concluding a long-running drama that played out with all the inevitability of an Italian opera — the only surprise being how and when the end would come.

It would be convenient to blame Mr. Dutton for the town’s many problems, fiscal and otherwise, and there is no doubt that he made mistakes. Personable and hardworking, Mr. Dutton opened himself up to criticism by, among other things, an approach to public bidding laws that could kindly be called casual. That the town counsel and Massachusetts Attorney General agreed this week not to pursue a costly investigation into past contracting practices seems to confirm that the violations didn’t rise to the level of graft, but were a misguided if well-meaning effort to keep town business local.

But anyone who takes an honest look at Oak Bluffs understands that Mr. Dutton’s downfall came not because he created problems, but because he couldn’t fix them. A former selectman, Mr. Dutton knows and loves the town, but ultimately those attributes may have hurt more than helped. It takes a certain type of person to lead and manage, and with a fractured board of selectmen and no town accountant, Mr. Dutton would have needed to be exceptional at both. That’s a tall order for anyone, let alone someone who came up from the inside.

With unemployment in the U.S. at over nine per cent, Oak Bluffs will no doubt have a flood of competent applicants for even this thankless job. The real question is not who would want the job, but how to ensure that whoever is hired to replace Mr. Dutton can succeed.

Taking a fresh look at the position they want to fill is the right first step for the selectmen. The second step is to look beyond town borders, possibly well beyond. All towns small and large are under pressure these days, but there are state agencies and management organizations that can help benchmark Oak Bluffs against similar towns and provide sound financial guidance. If they are truly ready to lead, what the selectmen need is a top-notch manager trained to oversee the details of running a town. Then they must stand behind that person.