Massachusetts towns struggle to keep municipal managers and workers

About 288 towns in Massachusetts have town managers instead of mayors, and according to the hiring firm Community Paradigm Associates, more than half of those positions have seen turnover in the last seven years. Outgoing town managers cite increased politicization of local government, new pressures that came from the pandemic, and the difficulty of living in their towns on municipal government salaries.

We speak to former Arlington town manager Adam Chapdelaine about his decision to leave his job, and current Sandwich town manager Bud Dunham, who is also the president of the Massachusetts Municipal Management Association, tells us what he's seeing across the state.