Travis Farley, the Town of Southborough’s new recreation director, asked the personnel board Jan. 14 to regrade the after-school program supervisor position from Grade 1 to Grade 2 and to update seasonal pay in Schedule C to improve recruitment and retention.

Farley said the after-school role now requires more experience and vendor/parent coordination than before the COVID-19 period, and he proposed adding a 3–5 years’ experience requirement to the program supervisor job description. He also proposed raising the starting hourly rate for seasonal camp counselors to remain competitive with local private-sector employers, suggesting a move from roughly $15–$17 to $16–$18 an hour. “A lot of rec departments are transitioning to that starting at 17, 18, $19 an hour,” Farley said.

The personnel board advised Farley to present the redlined job description to the Recreation Commission at its Jan. 28 meeting; if the commission approves, the personnel board will consider a regrade and schedule change at its February meeting. Board members noted the positions Farley described are program-funded and said any modest registration-fee increases would be handled within program budgets. The board also recommended replacing annual salary columns in Schedule C with hourly rates for seasonal positions to avoid confusion about year-round versus seasonal work.

No formal action was taken by the personnel board on Jan. 14; members agreed on next steps and documentation needed for a regrade request.