Recreation Committee Raises Hiring Process Concerns

Other Committee · Meeting of September 1, 2026

READING — The Reading Recreation Committee bid farewell to its retiring Recreation Administrator, known on the recording only as Jim, while pressing the town over his hiring process. Committee members, including Nancy Zimlack and Bob Wyden, said job descriptions were not reevaluated for therapeutic recreation needs before being reposted and that no committee representative was invited onto the interview panel, with Zimlack saying "I cannot think of any reason why Rich would not be on that interview committee." The town received 13 applications for Jim's position and 33 for a separate program coordinator vacancy, both to be filled through an internal Human Resources panel. Members also said recreation salaries lag surrounding towns by roughly $30,000, calling the gap "an embarrassment." The committee approved July's minutes 6-0 and adjourned unanimously after thanking Jim for 20 years in the recreation field.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,439 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of September 1, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.