NORTHAMPTON — The committee reviewing the possibility of changing the city clerk from an elected position to an appointed one heard Tuesday from a clerk who has experience in an appointed role.
Beverly City Clerk D. Wesley Slate Jr. told the Charter Review Committee there is no perfect solution to the question of whether the clerk should be elected. Rather, it’s up to each community to decide what works best, what citizens need and what matches the city’s culture and history.
“I wish you all the very best,” he said.
Slate, who is also the secretary of the Massachusetts City Clerks Association, added that only around five of the 50 city clerks in the state are elected.
Though the committee took no action on the question Tuesday, a straw vote in June showed all members in favor of making the change to an appointed position.
A vote on the question is expected to be on the agenda for the committee’s Sept. 3 meeting.
Much of the discussion Tuesday between Slate and the committee related to what his position looks like in the city.
City Solicitor Alan Seewald asked how Slate deals with having nine different bosses, referring to the city councilors who appoint him. Slate said that generally, city councilors will talk with the council president before coming to him for a discussion.
“It’s a courtesy among the nine,” he said. “It doesn’t always work perfectly … but as a practical matter it works pretty well.”
Committee Chairman Stanley Moulton asked whether Slate ever received mixed signals from city councilors.
“I will say that some are easier to deal with than others,” he said. “We can pretty much satisfy whatever they need, whether we think they need it or not.”
Slate said that when Beverly made the city clerk into an appointed position in the 1990s, the city’s charter committee looked at the fact that the city clerk and budget analyst would be the only positions controlled by the city council as opposed to the mayor.
“They’re pretty happy to have it stay that way,” he said of Beverly’s city council.
When considering whether to make the change, Slate advised the committee that it consider whether the position is appointed by the mayor or by a city council vote.
He also mentioned that in Beverly, the city council receives independent advice from a budget analyst — a position appointed by the council. Some way to get the city council independent financial advice could be something the Charter Review Committee considers, he said.
There are political realities that factor into the position being appointed by the city council, Slate said. For example, this year there are some city councilors who are facing electoral challenges.
“Those nine bosses of mine today — two won’t be there in January when I swear them in, could be three,” Slate said. “That’s a different political reality based on who’s sitting at the table.”
Only one resident — Sue Timberlake, who lives in Ward 7 — spoke out on the question during public comment. She said that by keeping the city clerk position elected, it keeps it out of the control of either the City Council or the mayor. And city clerks often find themselves in a position to referee disagreements in the city, Timberlake added.
“They referee a lot — they say the election was fair, that the papers were turned in on time, and the signatures match,” she said. “It’s really the check and balance on the government.”
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.