BELLOWS FALLS-After a four-month search, Rockingham and Bellows Falls officials hired Aaron Patt as the new municipal manager.
Previously the town administrator for Greenfield, New Hampshire, a role he has had since 2011, Patt will start May 26.
He replaces Scott Pickup, who left after serving five years to take a similar position with the town of Springfield. Alex Torpey served as interim municipal manager after Pickup left in January.
At an April 21 meeting, the Selectboard and the Bellows Falls Village Trustees voted unanimously to hire Patt under a three-year contract.
Patt was first interviewed by the hiring committee and then met with the Selectboard, Village Trustees, and department heads during the evaluation process.
The search committee members said they felt that Patt had “fostered a professional and collaborative culture among department leaders” in his previous position in New Hampshire.
“Aaron’s 15-year tenure as Greenfield, New Hampshire’s manager suggests someone who has the skills and perseverance to provide the long-term leadership and continuity we seek,” said Rockingham Selectboard Chair Rick Cowan said.
Cowan said that a key factor in the search was finding someone who could maintain “the momentum Rockingham/Bellows Falls has developed in the past five years” working under Pickup’s leadership.
Cowan said that “will require strategic thinking and cooperation among elected officials, municipal employees, businesses, local nonprofits, [and] state and federal agencies. A successful manager will function as a kind of air traffic controller of all these entities.”
The town and village officials collaborated with the Recruitment Services division of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, led by former Montpelier City Manager Bill Fraser. Forty-four people applied, and four finalists were interviewed.
“Aaron’s quiet competence impressed all who met him during the search process,” Cowan said. “Another key attribute is that he’s a good listener. We were particularly struck by the financial acumen he’s developed working in commercial as well as governmental realms.”
Patt’s financial abilities were important to other town administrators who will be working closely with him.
“It’s exciting to welcome a leader who brings a strong fiscal perspective to the role, with a clear understanding of long-term financial planning, responsible budgeting, and sustainable decision-making,” town Finance Director Alyssa Harlow stated in a press release.
In his previous role, Patt has overseen the opening of a new police station and secured a $1 million grant for the renovation of the town’s historic Meeting House, which now offers a community center.
“These accomplishments were driven by a strong emphasis on teamwork, clear communication, and sound financial management,” town officials said in the release. “His careful oversight of municipal finances has maintained the town’s strong fiscal position without the need for borrowing.”
They noted that Patt is known for promoting transparency and open dialogue with staff, elected officials, and community stakeholders, “while advancing a modern approach to municipal management that aligns available resources with service needs and maintains a high standard of public service.”
Nearly 25 years of public service
Patt began his public service in 2002, when he volunteered to manage a citizens group to clean up industrial pollution from a former horse blanket and automotive seat cover factory in Troy, New Hampshire.
According to news reports, the land became an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site and received $8 million in funding for prioritized cleanup.
“The net end result was that we were the fastest in the history of applicants to get on the National Priority List, and we were the fastest to get funding,” Patt told the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in 2011.
Following that, he said, he had the opportunity to be a selectman in Troy and a county commissioner for Cheshire County.
Patt’s salary had come under public debate in Greenfield during its 2025 Annual Town Meeting in 2025. He had received a $20,000 raise in 2024, and some citizens expressed concern that his $105,000 salary was high for a town with a population slightly over 1,700.
As municipal manager, Patt’s starting salary will be $130,000, managing a town and two villages nearly three times the size of Greenfield, with a total population of 4,800.
Patt said he “appreciates the complexity of Rockingham’s governmental structure, including the villages of Bellows Falls and Saxtons River.”
He expressed enthusiasm about beginning work with municipal staff, elected officials, and community stakeholders to advance the priorities of the Selectboard and Village Trustees.
In coverage about Patt’s departure, Greenfield Selectboard Chair Tom Bascom told the Ledger-Transcript that Patt was “instrumental in making Greenfield into a well-oiled machine, operating in a way that is professional, smooth, and effective.”
And, he told the newspaper, with Greenfield being a “tiny town” of 1,700 people, “we were only going to be able to hang on to him for so long.”
This News item by Robert F. Smith was written for The Commons.