After months with no permanent leader at the helm, the Selectmen on Tuesday voted to begin formal contract negotiations with Interim Town Administrator Derek Sullivan for the position.

While some have questioned whether or not the 34-year-old is experienced enough for the job, Sullivan has garnered praise for his work in the interim position.

At a joint meeting of the Selectmen and the Finance Committee on Nov. 28, Sullivan presented an analysis of where Wareham’s finances stand after the first quarter of the fiscal year.  Members of the FinCom said it was the clearest picture of the town’s finances they’d seen in quite some time.

Some Board of Selectmen members say that Sullivan’s work speaks for itself, and he has shown that he is ready to be considered for the position.

“In essence, we’ve been interviewing him on an almost weekly basis for three months,” said Selectman Peter Teitelbaum.

Wareham has been without a permanent town administrator since Mark Andrews resigned last April. Andrews was hired by the board in November 2009, and resigned before his contract with Wareham expired to take an interim town administrator job in Wenham.

After Andrews’ departure, Treasurer/Collector John Foster stepped into the role of interim town administrator, followed soon after by Sullivan.

Sullivan holds a Master's of Public Administration from the Suffolk University Sawyer School of Management, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island. Before stepping into the interim town administrator position, he served as the town's financial analyst.

Wareham looked outside of its borders for a town administrator, and a screening committee narrowed the field down to three candidates. All three were interviewed in September, but the board declined to appoint any of the finalists.

Selectmen Chair Steve Holmes said that after the job was re-posted, Sullivan was the only person who applied for the position. The next step, Holmes said, is "we have to put together a contract to negotiate with this man.”

Selectman Ellen Begley said she found it "disingenuous" to say there had been only one applicant, as the position was only posted in Town Hall.

"We posted as required to post," said Selectman Alan Slavin. "I don't see any reason to wait any longer."

The Selectmen agreed to meet in executive session before the start of next week’s public meeting to hammer out a contract with Sullivan.

“Negotiating things like this are sausages that are best not created in public,” said Teitelbaum.

For his part, Sullivan is eager to take on the challenges presented by the position, and hopes to work on attracting businesses and tourists to Wareham.

“This is a great town filled with a lot of great people," said Sullivan, "and we’re going to be working together to get the job done.”