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New Sharon to continue electing its town clerk

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Residents vote at a special town meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Residents vote at a special town meeting Wednesday afternoon.

NEW SHARON – Approximately 75 residents turned out for a special town meeting Wednesday evening and voted down articles that would have appointed rather than elected the town clerk and tax collector positions. Other articles, including one which allowed the selectmen to sell the old library building, were approved.

After moving from the town office to the vestry of the Congregational Church due to the high turnout, residents voted against switching to an appointed town clerk and tax collector. The Board of Selectmen supported the change after the town clerk/tax collector elected in March left the town to take a position elsewhere. After seeking a legal opinion on the matter, selectmen appointed Pamela Griswold Adams to both positions on an interim basis. Her appointment is good until March 2016.

Selectmen speaking in defense of the proposal said changing to an appointed position would be better for the town and the clerk. In the case of the previous town clerk, selectmen noted that they had been unable to advertise the position until after she officially resigned. This resulted in the interim town clerk/tax collector coming on board in the middle of tax season. For the clerk, the change would offer more stability that a year-to-year position; selectmen said that the previous clerk had told them that obtaining bank loans had been difficult due to the inability to show guaranteed employment.

For the tax collector’s position, selectmen said, an application process would allow them to hire someone trained in Trio, the finance software, and make certain the individual employed the best accounting practices.

“We didn’t think it would pass in our town,” Selectman Travis Pond said between the town clerk and tax collector articles, “but it would make sense if it did.”

Residents disagreed, speaking to the engagement in local government that the elected position provided.

“We’d be giving up our ability to decide who to elect,” resident Bill Reid said, “and instead let the selectmen do whatever they wanted.”

“We have fewer and fewer opportunities to govern ourselves as the years go on,” resident Bob Neal said, noting that an appointed position might make sense in a larger town. The legislative body should not give up its powers, Neal said, to the applause of those in attendance.

Article 4 and Article 5, town clerk and tax collector respectively, were both voted down by approximately two-thirds of those in attendance. Debate on Article 6, which would have let selectmen set town office hours, stalled briefly as moderator Tom Saviello and the board discussed whether the previous votes had rendered the issue irrelevant, but in the end Pond simply advised the assembly to vote the measure down.

The other four action articles passed, with one amendment. Article 2 asked residents for permission to let selectmen dispose of town property. This article appeared in relation to two pieces of town-owned property: granite blocks left over from the demolition of the old bridge and the old library building.

The bridge was demolished in February 2014, leaving behind a number of granite blocks. While a handful of residents had either paid or stated they intended to pay for bricks at $50 apiece, Selectman Milt Sinclair said, a number remained. Other, out-of-town individuals had also approached New Sharon about purchasing some blocks.

In either case, the town needs to move them from their present location, which is next to a state road.

Selectmen are also interested in selling the old library building on Route 2. Selling the property before the winter would allow New Sharon to avoid the expense of heating the building, plus the cost of running a sump pump in the basement. Additionally, the town’s insurance provider has informed New Sharon that painting and electrical work must be done on the building or coverage will be canceled.

Residents agreed that both the blocks and the property should be sold, but wanted to limit the board’s authority to those two items. The motion was successfully amended to add language that specified the granite blocks and old library building as the “town owned tangible personal property” cited in the article.

Residents approved articles that authorized the board to enter into a multi-year contract for the plowing of the town’s roads and rent space at the town office. While these things had been done in the past, selectmen said, the town’s attorney had informed them that they needed the approval of the townspeople to continue doing them in the future.

Residents approved the final article on the warrant, Article 8, which allowed funds previously authorized to be expended by the New Sharon Historical Society be re-appropriated. The funds, approximately $900, will be overseen by selectmen under the guidance of the town’s newly-formed Historical Committee for the maintenance of historical items and projects.

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1 Comment

  1. Good for you residents, hold on to what little voice you have left!. I adore Pam and know she will treat you well (as I’m sure you all know anyway) but you should have known about it ahead of time and had a say in what was going on!

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