Portsmouth finance director to be Block Island town manager

James Lathrop expected to be sworn in Monday

Jim McGaw
Posted 11/8/16

PORTSMOUTH —‚ The New Shoreham Town Council last week appointed James L. Lathrop, Portsmouth’s director of finance and personnel, as new town manager.

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Portsmouth finance director to be Block Island town manager

James Lathrop expected to be sworn in Monday

Posted

PORTSMOUTH —‚ The New Shoreham Town Council last week appointed James L. Lathrop, Portsmouth’s director of finance and personnel, as new town manager.

Mr. Lathrop, a Wakefield resident who came here in January 2014 after leaving the job of finance director in Westerly, has also been Portsmouth’s deputy town administrator since July 2015.

The Block Island Times reported that Mr. Lathrop was hired to fill the seat of outgoing Town Manager Nancy Dodge after weeks of negotiations. 

On Wednesday, Mr. Lathrop said he will be sworn in as New Shoreham town manager on Monday, Nov. 14. He still has a few things to wrap up in Portsmouth, however, so his last day here will be Friday, Nov. 18, he said.

“Since I’ve been here, the town has really moved forward,” said Mr. Lathrop, who listed progress in numerous fronts such as the Brown House at Glen Farm, Prudence Island roads, the town’s new wastewater ordinance and other projects.

He gave a shout-out to his colleagues at Town Hall. “People have to remember they have great people who work at Town Hall. They work hard, they’re dedicated people and they really do try their best. Sometimes, the citizens forget that,” he said.

As for his new job, he said he’s both excited and nervous.

“It’s an island, and the logistics of family life are concerning,” said Mr. Lathrop, a Wakefield resident whose wife works and whose daughter is away at college.

He said he plans to rent on the island this winter, which will allow him to seek out more permanent housing. His daughter, he said, “is excited that she’ll be on Block Island for the summer.”

Town Council President Keith Hamilton said he was happy for Mr. Lathrop and wished him the best in his new position.

“Jim has always strived to better himself and get to the next level of town administrator,” said Mr. Hamilton.

He noted that Mr. Lathrop was on the “short list” for the Portsmouth town administrator’s job after John Klimm left the job in April 2015 to become city manager of Aiken, S.C. The current town administrator, Richard Rainer, was hired the following month.

Found ‘old money’

The council president praised Mr. Lathrop’s ability to go through the town budget with a fine-tooth comb in order to find dormant funds that could be used for other purposes.

“He’s done a very nice job of cleaning up and helping to bring the Portsmouth Finance Department to the next level,” said Mr. Hamilton. “And, he’s doing a very good job of finding old money that we didn’t know we had. There were a lot of old capital projects that we budgeted X dollars for that came in lower than that amount, so the money was still sitting there.”

It will be up to Mr. Rainer to search for a new director of finance and personnel. The Town Council must ratify his appointment, he said.

“(Former Portsmouth Finance Director) Dave Faucher will be coming back to mind the store, so to speak, until we can find a replacement,” Mr. Hamilton said.

According to the Block Island Times, Mr. Lathrop will earn $106,000 in the first year of a five-year contract, which does not include a housing allowance.

James Lathrop, Town of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Finance Department

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Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.