PELHAM — A new part-time town clerk, who previously served as Amherst’s town clerk for almost a dozen years, could be appointed to the position by the Select Board on Monday.
But a hiring panel’s recommendation to appoint Sandra Burgess, the retired Amherst town clerk and Pelham resident, to the post comes as voters at Town Meeting Saturday are being asked, through citizen petition, to reverse a decision made at the 2019 Town Meeting that changed the position from an elected to an appointed one.
Following that Town Meeting, special legislation was filed by state Rep. Mindy Domb and state Sen. Jo Comerford, and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker.
Though Kathy Martell was elected to the town clerk position and has remained in a temporary appointed position, her tenure would end when Burgess is appointed.
Select Board Vice Chairman Robert Agoglia said Thursday that he will speak against the warrant article, observing that the town clerk now has a job description and will continue to comply with all state laws. One of his concerns in returning the position an elected one has been the challenge of finding individuals to run for various town offices.
Among those supporting the petition is Joseph Larson, who said that keeping Martell in the role permanently wasn’t possible when it became appointed due to provisions of her state retirement pension.
Larson said he worries that the pool of candidates could be narrowed if people who are retired from the state system are excluded from applying.
Sharrie Reydak, a member of the Board of Registrars, said there is concern about what could happen with the appointed position, including eliminating the checks and balances by taking away voters’ ability to elect the town clerk and making it more difficult and costly to remove an unpopular town clerk.
It is also possible that the speed in which the town clerk answers questions and gets vital documents could be slowed, Reydak said.
The advertisement for the position called for a starting salary of $18,914 for a 12- to 15-hour workweek.
The hiring panel, which reviewed four applications, was made up of residents Robert Pariseau and Linda Spink and Orange Town Clerk Nancy Blackmer.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
