STRONG – Residents met in a special town meeting Tuesday evening, changing the way their town clerk is hired among other decisions.
The event began at 6 p.m. in the Forster Memorial Building. Clyde Barker was chosen as moderator with selectmen, Rupert Pratt, Milton Baston, Michael Carlton and James Burrill leading the deliberations.
The evening focused largely on the question of whether or not the position of town clerk should continue to be filled through an election, or if it should instead be appointed by the board of selectmen.
In discussion, Pratt explained the reasoning behind this proposal, stating that it could be a means of providing both better services to the town while still maintaining cost effectiveness.
“Our objective is,” Pratt said, “that right now, we need to have somebody in the office who can do everything that the deputy clerk does. This will allow for more hours that the town clerk will be available, their services will be accessible whenever the Town Office is open.”
Pratt also proposed officially increasing the town clerk’s office hours from 16 to 24 hours a week, a decision which could be implemented without increasing the overall cost for the position. The possibility of increasing the weekly hours to 32 hours was also brought up. This would increase the total number of days the Town Office would be open from four days a week to five as well as make the town clerk eligible for town insurance, however it would also demand additional funding.
“With what we can do in 24 hours, we can also stay within the budget we currently have,” Pratt said. “If we feel we want to move up to 32 hours, we can do that too, we’ll just need a little more to cover it. It’ll ultimately be the town’s decision to determine whether those additional services are needed or not.”
With current Town Clerk Lois Barker deciding to retire, the position for town clerk will be advertised through the board with special consideration being given to computer proficiency and programming skills. Although Pratt stated his hope of finding a local resident of Strong to take on the role, the position will ultimately be decided through the nominee’s qualifications and experience.
After a written ballot, the article passed with a vote of 18 to 10.
In the next article, a vote was held to approve the transfer of $4,700 from town surplus to cover landfill costs scheduled to come in early December.
Selectman James Burrill answered the majority of the questions regarding this proposal.
“The reason we’re asking for $4,700 is that the December bill last year was $3,435 to inspect the landfill,” he said. “What we’re asking the money for is in case that bill comes in before the end of the year, so we can pay it on this year. If it doesn’t come in, the money will lapse back to surplus.”
In addition to this, a further $575 was called for to complete payment for an invoice reimbursement as well as help cover costs for a mandatory state. In all, Strong stands to spend approximately $18,000 in landfill costs, the highest it’s been in years. Pratt stated that the town’s need for addition funds from the surplus stems from a double payment the town of Strong had to make to Farmington earlier that year over use of its landfill.
“It was an oversight of last year really,” Pratt said. “We use Farmington to dispose of our town’s solid waste. The bill normally gets paid before the end of the year, however we didn’t end up receiving it until after so that money ended up getting rolled back into surplus. That meant we ended up paying two bills this year.”
Voters approved the expenditure.
In the last order of business, a call for $1,000 was asked to be transferred from surplus to the town’s garage account. More specifically, the money will go towards completing the $3,000 instillation of a new septic system for the facility.
“The tanks in the ground, the drainage field’s gone – we just need to get a pump-up toilet and we need it installed,” said Pratt. “We’re not asking for a lot, we may not need the full amount. We’re at the point where if we’re going to run out of the money, it’s easier to get a little extra now than to wait for the end of the year and hold an emergency town meeting to come up with it. We figure this $1,000 will cover everything we need until the end of the year.”
The article passed nearly unanimously.
