The Select Board discussed and advanced a multi-step plan to change the Town Clerk position from elected to appointed, saying the move would improve continuity, professional qualifications and accountability.

Town staff reviewed prior reviews and reports recommending the change, including a 2019 study that said the Town Clerk role has become more complex and recommended a full-time, appointed position. The town's draft warrant includes a proposed special-act article that would authorize the Select Board to petition the state legislature to change the position.

Town Administrator and Select Board members said the main advantages of appointment are continuity (appointed clerks would not turn over on a three-year cycle) and day-to-day accountability within the town administration. Board members said they preferred a transparent approach: placing the change on the town meeting warrant and also offering a ballot question at the annual election to demonstrate broad voter support. Staff noted the legislative process to enact a special act typically takes at least a year: if the town approves the article and the legislature enacts the special act, the change would take effect after legislative approval and any required timing provisions.

Board members discussed staffing implications, saying the clerk's office would need at least the equivalent of one 40-hour and one 30-hour staff position to handle the expanded workload. Officials reiterated that the assistant clerk position is already appointed and that the proposed change would only alter the top-level clerk role.

The board voted to open the spring annual town meeting warrant later in the agenda and included the proposed town-clerk article in a draft warrant that will be finalized before the warrant closes.