A contract has been agreed to and a July 9 start date has tentatively been set for Shawn MacInnes, Dartmouth's new town administrator.

The announcement comes two weeks after the Select Board picked MacInnes for the position pending contract negotiations, which were held before the board’s public meeting on May 21. MacInnes and the town agreed on a three-year contact, Select Board Chair Shawn McDonald said.

Because the contract is still being finalized, information regarding salary, compensation, and benefits are not currently available. McDonald said the contract is expected to be ready to ratify at its next meeting on June 4, at which point it will become publicly available.

MacInnes is currently the municipal operations director in Yarmouth. In his interview before the Select Board on May 7 , he touted his ability to plan municipal budgets, and listed off several technically oriented projects he hopes to begin, like online permitting, a centralized town project management dashboard, and tackling vacant retail space.

The search for Dartmouth’s next town administrator began shortly after David Cressman announced his retirement from the post last year, citing a desire to spend more time with his family on the North Shore. A pool of 49 applicants prepared by an outside consulting firm were narrowed down to a final list of eight for interviews with a screening committee.

The screening committee passed three names to the full Select Board to interview in person: MacInnes, Warren Rutherford, and Robert Peabody. Rutherford was Barnstable's Town Manager from 1990-1997 and now runs an executive recruiting and coaching firm on Cape Cod. Peabody is the Bridgton, Maine town manager.

The Select Board voted 4-1 to name pick MacInnes for the position following his interview. Member John Haran cast the dissenting vote after recommending current Dartmouth Director of Budget and Finance Greg Barnes, who is also serving as interim town administrator.