Dispute Over Reducing Town Clerk/Tax Collector Hours

During discussions of the town department budgets in November 2015, the Budget Committee learned that the selectmen had restructured the Town Clerk/Tax Collector positions by creating a new Municipal Agent position (appointed by the selectmen) and giving that position most of the hours. This reduced the Town Clerk's position and the Tax Collector's position to 4 hr/wk each. For details, see the 2016 Town Administrative Budgets document, pages 34-38.

The Town Clerk is an elected position (20 hr/wk) and the Tax Collector is an appointed position (20 hr/wk), with both positions currently filled by one person, making for a very efficient operation. Several Budget Committee members expressed concern as to why this restructuring was necessary. Selectman Jeff Gryval explained that they had been reviewing job descriptions of all town employees and felt that their restructuring better defined the time spent on job duties for each position. When asked why they did not just rewrite the Town Clerk/Tax Collector job descriptions to include all the duties that are actually performed, the response was a rewind of the same unconvincing talking point.

It is significant that no other city or town has taken this approach to reduce the hours of a Town Clerk. Why after so many years is this happening? If there are doubts about an elected official's job performance, then convince the voters to elect someone else.

If this restructuring is not challenged and overturned, it will infringe on the right of you the voters to elect your town official. When you voted for Town Clerk last March, you voted for a position that was defined as a 20 hr/wk position. Without your consent, the selectmen have reduced the voter-approved hours of an elected official to 4 hr/wk and given themselves the power to redirect those hours to an appointee of their choosing. Would you run for a town office that was limited to 4 hr/wk?