SHUTESBURY — Changing the town clerk to an appointed position, rather than one elected by voters, will be considered by residents at a special Town Meeting Tuesday.
Scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. at the Shutesbury Elementary School gym, the session was originally called to deal with a $124,000 increase in health insurance premiums. The town, like other members of the Hampshire Country Group Insurance Trust, is facing a sizable jump in those costs, which will total $743,000 for fiscal year 2026.
The health insurance increase would be covered through various sources, including $61,500 from taxes, $12,500 from the stabilization account and $50,000 from reducing the town’s contribution to Other Post Employment Benefits.
The idea of having the town’s chief election officer appointed comes after Town Clerk Grace Bannasch left for an appointed full-time position in Groton over the summer.
“We’re in a position where we could modernize, which would be a benefit to the town,” Town Administrator Hayley Bolton told the Select Board at a recent meeting.
Bolton said her recommendation is to initiate the process under state law to create a position with enhanced accountability for elections and records. This may provide more stability to the role, would make it easier for succession planning and would make it a merit-based selection, rather than a popularity contest, and help to integrate it into the overall government structure.
Bolton said that 117 of the 351 communities in Massachusetts have appointed clerks, up from 78 communities a decade ago.
On the other hand, an elected town clerk can be buffered from influence by the Select Board and town administrator, and only answer to the voters.
Leverett Town Clerk Lisa Stratford is handling the responsibilities of the Shutesbury town clerk on an interim basis, likely until next spring’s town elections. If Town Meeting approves the change, a successful ballot vote would be the required second step of the process.
Some of the warrant articles are related to salary adjustments the town is obligated to pay, including a $3,694 salary increase, to $75,217, for the superintendent of the Highway Department; a $1,015 salary increase, to $24,726, for the tax collector, and $3,000 to pay a stipend to the emergency management director.
Another article would cover the $9.8 million for the Amherst Regional Middle School roof, giving the go ahead for the Massachusetts School Building Authority to award a grant to pay for almost 62% of the cost, with the remainder of the expense to be picked up by the four member towns of the region.
Annual Town Meeting could officially be set as the second Saturday of May, with the Select Board having discretion to schedule a special Town Meeting on a date in October. The suggestion for this warrant article came from Nettie Harrington Pangallo, the town moderator, after this year’s session lasted for more than eight hours. But the concept of continuing the annual meeting into the fall was not possible, according to an advisory from town attorney Donna MacNicol.
Other articles include reducing the Council on Aging from seven to five members, reversing a decision to expand that board made in 2016; enacting a townwide speed limit of 25 mph, unless posted, which will ensure a lower speed limit for the town’s gravel roads; and putting a prohibition and moratorium on data centers, giving time for the Planning
Board time to develop a comprehensive bylaw for 2026.