Freeport council members approved an employment agreement for Sophia Wilson with the Town of Freeport Tuesday evening in advance of her appointment as town manager. Wilson will be paid a salary of $150,000 for the job, which she begins in December. Luna Soley / The Times Record
The Freeport Town Council on Tuesday hired Sophia L. Wilson as the town’s new manager.
Wilson has been Orono’s town manager for the past 12 years and is expected to transition to Freeport in December. Prior to her time in Orono, she worked as Brownfield’s manager, a job she started in 2000.
Wilson, whose yearly salary will be $150,000, was picked from a crop of 104 candidates who applied during a search led by recruitment firm Baker Tilly.
“She stood out from a well-qualified group of candidates, and I think her extensive experience will be an important benefit for Freeport,” said Town Council Chairperson Dan Piltch. “We have a dedicated team of people with a wonderful culture, and we look forward to adding Sophia’s energy to the mix.”
Wilson said she thinks she has the best job in town.
“No day is the same,” Wilson said. “It’s not all numbers but yet we do things with numbers, it’s not all public speaking but we have the opportunity to do that. … Give me another job where I can really learn and engage fire service and EMS and then turn around and be able to talk about how you put culverts in the road and what the plan is for sidewalk and how you plow streets.”
In addition to over two decades of experience working as a town manager, Wilson has a political science bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Maine in Orono. She was awarded the Maine Town, City and County Management Association’s Leadership Award in 2015.
Wilson will replace Peter Joseph, who resigned in March to relocate to York. Caroline Pelletier, Freeport’s town planner, has served as interim town manager for the past six months.
Asked about her priorities for the upcoming year, Wilson highlighted Freeport’s Downtown Vision Plan and her commitment to supporting inclusiveness for residents and town employees alike.
“Freeport is a place where everybody should be safe and welcome,” Wilson said. “Sometimes, as the world changes, we as municipal officials might not catch up quite as quickly. … I would be looking to work with the community and staff to make sure that we are giving that message to everybody, that we are doing the things we should do to make sure are residents are comfortable reporting the things that aren’t welcoming.”
In particular, Wilson mentioned that she was impressed by the Town Council’s response to incidents of hate speech in the past year. The council held a rally outside Town Hall last month to show support for targeted communities.
“Governance is a process, and it’s a process that wants people to come to the table and participate, and then you have people feel disenfranchised and aren’t coming to the table to participate so there’s a disconnect,” Wilson said. “Trying to solve that, I think, is going to be a wonderful thing. I see here is a place that’s very open and wants to work with residents and get people engaged.”
“I’m excited,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a great fit.”
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