By Lisa Loomis
On Election Day next month Waitsfield voters will not be voting on whether to adopt a new town charter that would give the select board, rather than voters, the authority to select the town clerk and treasurer.
The town had warned two public hearings in advance of the plan to have voters address the issue of whether to adopt a town charter at the November general election. The charter would have removed from voters the authority to elect the town clerk and treasurer and vested that power with the select board.
The board, at the first of the two warned hearings on October 6, was made aware that the hearing was not 30 days in advance of the vote and, hence, voting on the subject would have to be pushed out to Town Meeting. But, because there were members of the public there to discuss the issue of the charter, the board provided their rationale and took public comment.
Board members explained that they had begun looking into this several years ago, partially because it was awkward for the board to be in the position of setting salaries for people who (like elected town clerks and treasurers) set their own hours.
Currently, under state statute, town clerks and treasurers set their own hours and work agendas. For towns to create their own ways of governance, voters and then the Legislature must approve adopting a town charter that spells out that the select board now has powers formerly vested with voters.
"Our sense was that we'd have a better opportunity to turn this into a normal hiring experience versus an election where anything could happen," said board member Sal Spinosa.
Former select board member and current budget task force and water commissioner Bill Parker said that the affairs of the town may have grown to the point where an appointed treasurer was needed.
"The budget task force recommended looking at the big picture of the job that the treasurer could be doing if he or she were working for the select board versus working independently and answering only to the voters. There are statutory requirements that a treasurer has to follow. We've been very lucky to have had people in the role who can fulfill those requirements. That may not happen with every election cycle. The town is now handling $8.5 million and some of our projects are in the multimillion-dollar range," Parker said.
"Looking at the clerk and treasurer roles separately, I'd like you guys to consider an amendment to your charter that would retain the election process for the town clerk," he added.
Board members Logan Cooke and Scott Kingsbury said they felt it was unfair to the people holding those positions that they could be voted out of office and, hence, did not have job security.
"We're growing as a town and have a water system that has a billing function and the select board has no authority over the clerk or treasurer. We can't just hand it to them and expect them to do it. This allows us to install new duties into those positions," said board member Chris Pierson.
"This allows us to set the hours. I don't know of any job that doesn't have a boss," said board chair Paul Hartshorn.
"Are you saying you guys or the next select board have a better idea of candidates than the rest of us that they are actually working for?" asked resident Jerry Miller.
"If we make a mistake, we can fire that person," Pierson said.
"Why not have a candidate forum for people running for those positions and ask those questions?" Miller continued.
"It's not to imply that we're better judges than voters. We'd still have to hire them in public," Cooke said.
Parker suggested that the delay in voting on the issue be used to amend the proposed charter so that only the treasurer is appointed and the clerk would continue to be elected.
"I think you'd get a lot less pushback from voters," he said.
"I support both being appointed because of the efficiency in giving the select board the right to change duties between the clerk and the treasurer," said planning commission chair and budget committee member Steve Shea.
Town resident Alice Evans asked board members for specific examples of when and how their ability to work or make decisions had been impeded by the fact that the clerk and treasurer answer to voters versus the select board.
{loadnavigation}
