By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

The town of Hooksett is scheduled to have its fourth town administrator in the past three years. Dave Jodoin, who was born and raised in Hooksett, will take over the position this summer.

Allenstown's town administrator since March 2001, Jodoin said he has been periodically speaking with Hooksett town officials about the job since 2003. He said the circumstances were finally right for him to make the move.

"It feels good," said Jodoin. "It's a big town and a big challenge, but I'm very excited."

Jodoin will take over for current Town Administrator Moni Sharma on July 7, upon conclusion of Sharma's first and only year in the office. Sharma, who was retired before he took the position, had already indicated that he would be leaving, said Hooksett Town Selectman Michael DiBitetto.

"We're certainly sorry to see Moni go, but we.re sure we've found the right successor," DiBitetto said.

DiBitetto said he anticipates the recent trend of short-term town administrators to be reversed with the hiring.

"Dave (Jodoin) is a young fellow with a long career ahead of him," DiBitetto said. "He's got a very good reputation and we all feel very comfortable with him."

Jodoin will enter a yearlong contract with a base salary of $73,000 and two oneyear options. He said the move to a bigger town . Hooksett has approximately three times the number of residents as Allenstown - will likely offer some new challenges.

"Here (in Allenstown), I do a little of everything, from the administrative side to the financial side," said Jodoin. "My role in Hooksett will probably be much more centered on administration."

DiBitetto put the job in different terms.

"The job here involves setting a direction for the town government," he said. "He's going to get a chance to get his head up from the day to day and look out past tomorrow."

Jodoin began his career with Plodzik & Sanderson, a large auditing firm where he worked for six years. He began working in Allenstown and has been there ever since, with the exception of a four-year stint as finance director for Exeter.

Sandra McKenney, chairman of the Allenstown Board of Selectmen, said she'll be very sorry to see Jodoin leave.

"We.re going to miss Dave tremendously," she said. "He knows his job very well and he's always done great work. We wish him the best."

McKenney said the board plans to run a newspaper ad in order to find qualified candidates for the open position.

"We don't really have anyone right now that can fill Dave's spot," she said.

While Allenstown may feel the loss of Jodoin, Hooksett officials say they're confident they've found the right person.

"The last few people we've had, we mostly knew we weren't getting long-term employment," said DiBitetto. "We now have someone . and we're confident - that's going to do a good job for a while."