Idea #215 – Change Town Clerk Staffing

Report Status: Fully Reviewed

Researched by: Mark Paolillo

Original Idea as Submitted

Have a professionally appointed Town Clerk, and then replace the Assistant Town Clerk with a clerical person.

Other ideas included in this report

  • None

Idea intent

The idea implies that an appointed Town Clerk might have stronger qualifications and that reducing the grade of the Assistant Town Clerk would have cost savings.

Weighted Final Score: 17 (Financial Impact: 1, Operational Impact: 0, Time Scale: 2, Ease of Implementation: 1)

Background Information

This idea is similar to an initiative that took place in 2005 to replace the Elected Town Treasurer with a Treasurer appointed by the Board of Selectmen at that time. This was an initiative that was sponsored by the Warrant Committee and supported by Members of Town Government. This initiative resulted in a Town-wide referendum vote to change the Town By-law from an elected Town Treasurer for a three-year term to an appointed Town Treasurer by the Board of Selectmen. A yes vote win would result in the By-law change. The results of the referendum vote were as follows:

No: 1,668 votes 58.63%

Yes: 1,177 votes 41.37%

The residents of the Town in 2005 didn’t support the change to an appointed Town Treasurer. The same result might occur if we were to move forward with an initiative to change the Elected Town Clerk position to an Appointed Town Clerk position.

Additionally, the current Town Clerk and the employees within the Town Clerk Office presently serve the residents of our community at a very high level at a cost level that is very reasonable.

Recommendations

  • Continue to have the Town Clerk as an elected position.

  • Review Idea #216 for additional context and related recommendations.

Next Steps

  • Include this topic in the broader review that will be conducted by a Charter Committee for the town.