A good town manager is hard to find.

At least four communities in the state will begin searching for town managers in the new year, sharply increasing the demand for quality administrators. Add to the problem that fewer people nationwide are willing to take such a job, and local officials find themselves facing a growing challenge.

"It's slim pickings out there," said Karen Strid, chairwoman of the board of selectmen in Hebron, which is searching for a chief officer along with West Hartford, Newington and Enfield. "And for now, it's not going to get any better."

Bloomfield may also be getting into the market if its town manager, Louie Chapman Jr., is appointed as the Manchester manager in the next few days. Scott Shanley, the former Enfield town manager, is another finalist.

Experts agree that the situation is challenging for elected officials in the state.

"The competition for people will be very stiff," said Richard Bennett, whose firm, Bennett Yarger Associates of Scituate, Mass., has conducted several manager searches here, including the one in Manchester.

Noting that there is an "ebb and flow" to the candidates' pool across the country, Bennett said the pending retirement of many baby boomers from such positions, combined with the lackluster reputation of public service, helped create a shortage of qualified town managers. Tight municipal budgets and political pressures also have contributed to the growing number of vacancies and the shrinking pool of people to fill them.

"There will always be good-quality people," said Bennett, adding that some communities could end up appointing qualified department heads or others who already work for the community. "The least attractive option is that some places may end up appointing people who aren't as qualified as they need to be," he said.

Unlike the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, university-level public administration programs are no longer full of students with a passion for public service, inspired to serve in municipal leadership jobs. Interest in such positions has lost its luster in part because the pay is not as good as it once was and the hours are longer.

Also, increased political pressure from elected governing bodies can threaten job security, and experts cite a general demise in civility and respect for the post.

"You have to be pretty thick-skinned," said Michele Frisby, public information officer with the International City/County Management Association. "Many young people today are not willing to sacrifice personal and family lives in the name of the job." She said many choose to work for the private sector or the federal government instead.

"The politics of the job has always been a challenge and becoming even more so," she said. "There are communities that get a reputation for chewing up managers and then spitting them out. ... That gets around when it comes to candidates who are considering applying for a town manager's job in that community."

Around Connecticut, where there are 37 manager-council forms of government, according to the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, the reasons for the vacancies make up a mixed bag, confirming what the experts say.

Shanley, the Manchester finalist, was forced to resign in November at the request of Enfield's Democratic mayor. Paul Fetherston, who had been under subtle political pressure from a faction of Newington's town council, resigned from his post there to take a similar position in Canton.

"Under the old school, town managers were allowed to manage, there was a respect for authority, and there was no micro-managing," said Fetherston, who has worked as a manager or assistant manager for 12 years. "It's the way society has become."

Hebron's former manager, Paul Mazzaccaro, resigned just a year after taking the job because night meetings and other job demands limited his time with his family.

Longtime West Hartford Town Manager Barry Feldman, 60, has announced his plans to step down later in 2006, saying it is time to do other things after he retires from the manager's job.

While each community is different and is expected to attract a different kind of interest, local officials are trying to figure out how to put their best foot forward when it comes to attracting interest in the job.

"We think we have a good reputation, and we are hopeful that we are going to be able to find a good match," said Newington Mayor Rodney Mortensen, whose town is planning to limit its search for a replacement to the New England area. The town is advertising for a consultant and will tap that expertise to determine what the town can do, including raising the annual salary, to attract the most qualified people.

West Hartford, a booming suburb with a stellar reputation, is expected to have no problem attracting good candidates, consultants agree, while Enfield may have more of a challenge because of politics there.

Hebron, the smallest of the towns with manager vacancies, has one perk that will be especially attractive to potential candidates.

"We don't have a residency requirement," Strid said. Most municipalities require their managers to live in town, an obstacle when it comes to attracting good candidates. Hebron officials also plan to increase the annual salary.

"People have families and homes, and it's not as easy to move to a new place. That doesn't help recruitment," said Meredith Robson, president of the Connecticut Town And City Management Association.

Both the state and national associations are developing mentoring programs in the hope of attracting more people to the field.

They also are advocating for more assistant town manager positions - entry-level jobs to groom graduates who are considering public service.

As search committees are formed, consultants hired and advertisements posted, those happy with their town managers admit the vacancies are making them a little nervous.

"We want to hold on to what we have," said Mayor Russ Morin of Wethersfield, where Bonnie Therrien, who has been in the business for 20 years, serves as town manager. "We try to support her initiatives and give her a fair salary," he said. "We certainly don't want to see her go. ... This is not the time to be looking for a new town manager."