NEWINGTON - Tanya Lane will remain in the Town Manager’s seat.

       The Town Council voted 6-3 in favor of appointing her to the position, after rejecting a separate motion proposing a longer search process that would have involved reviewing outside candidates for the role-vacated with the resignation of former Town Manager John Salomone in January.

       After a consultant-led series of public and town staff meetings, the Council debated whether or not to further the process to a full search, with members of the Republican Majority pushing for the appointment of Lane, who has served as the Acting Town Manager while continuing in her prior position as Town Clerk.

       â€�"I’m delighted,” Lane said over the phone the next day. â€�"I’m excited to move the town forward.”

       Lane said that she was not surprised by the outcome, although disagreement regarding the hiring process made it less than certain.

       While she received praise from both sides of the aisle, Democrats Carol Anest and Diana Serra, as well as unaffiliated Councilor Maureen Klett, urged Republicans to consider a wider search as a measure of â€�"due diligence”.

       Anest, Serra, and Klett had backed a motion to conduct a resume review search throughout the northeast region for a $5,000 cost. The motion failed 6-3.

       â€�"This is not about the candidate. It’s about the process,” Anest said. â€�"If we feel based on that, that the current acting town manager comes out near the top, we can go forward.”

       Search consultant Randi Frank had estimated a $15,000 cost for the entire process, but that included a $2,000 sum spent in order to hold the meetings.

       â€�"In my opinion, it’d be $13,000 well spent,” Klett said. â€�"Based on the recommendation of the consultant, even if we had a candidate we thought might be qualified, it’d be in that person’s best interest to demonstrate that they could rise to the top in a competitive process.”

       For Republicans, the cost had raised some eyebrows, but Councilor Gail Budrejko said that it did not factor heavily in her own decision-making process.

       â€�"I’m not concerned with spending [that amount of] money,” Budrejko said. â€�"I think to do a high quality search would cost more. If an internal candidate is not qualified, it absolutely should be spent. But if there’s someone in line who is willing and capable to step forward, why look outside? We have somebody who served the position for five months and prove that they could do it.”

       Klett questioned whether the length of Lane’s interim role is enough to adequately assess the qualifications of any candidate, saying that other issues which may not have yet been encountered-such as building projects-are sure to come in the future.

       Democratic Councilor Jim Marocchini, who joined the Republicans in opposing the search and supporting the appointment after being less than vocal on one direction or the other, voiced his confidence in the decision.

       â€�"I did not take this decision lightly,” Marocchini said. â€�"She really hit the ground running. She didn’t sit idle and put some of the decisions that she probably could have off until somebody else got hired. She made it through the budget. A difficult budget. A lot of tough cuts. She took it onto herself to look at the way we bond. Five months is a pretty long interview.”

       At the end of the meeting, Anest pointed out that when the motion to appoint Lane was made, the discussion was closed without a second-a violation of Robert’s Rules.

       â€�"That was done improperly,” she said over the phone the next day. â€�"I didn’t get a chance to state why I was voting the way I did.”

       Anest said that she felt the vote on the appointment could have waited until the Council had an employment contract in place. Some general parameters have been set, but the terms have not been made official, she said.

       Zartarian confirmed that a contract is yet to be signed, but said that he could not comment further on what is a â€�"personnel matter”.

       â€�"You protect the town, as well as the potential employee,” Anest said. â€�"You wouldn’t hire a contractor to do work and then negotiate the terms afterward.”

       Meanwhile, Lane is looking to a priority list that includes various building projects in town, as well as a revamping of the Newington municipal website. She says that moving the Town Hall project forward is a major goal in and of itself.