BCAT News

After Town Meeting in May asked for more information on the possibility of changing the Town Clerk position from an elected to an appointed role, the Select Board Monday night voted to create a committee to look into the issue and make a recommendation to the board. 

The committee will include two Select Board members, four Town Meeting members, and one town resident who has worked local elections. 

“The committee’s task is to deep dive into the pros and cons, look at different scenarios, think about the selection process and selection criteria, and give us the information for how we want to present it to Town Meeting,” said Select Board Member Mike Espejo. 

Select Board Member Sarah Cawley volunteered to be one the board members on the committee. “This is an issue of transparency and independence, who appoints this position, who oversees it, making sure there’s communication with the community about this decision and that it’s not just being made behind closed doors,” she said. 

Town Clerk Amy Warfield told Town Meeting in May that the expertise required for the Town Clerk role has expanded since she took on the job, and it might be easier to find a qualified candidate if the town could look beyond its own borders. But some Town Meeting members worried that just because the clerk would be appointed wouldn’t necessarily mean the most qualified person would get the job. 

“Having a very small elected body that the clerk would report to is kind of a worrisome thing,” Town Meeting Member John Iler said at the time. “I’d want to see protections spelled out as to how this clerk would be free of influence, yet we’re still able to get rid of them if we don’t like them somehow.”

Town Administrator Paul Sagarino said his office would add the clerk item to the September Town Meeting Warrant for discussion, but the town could always pull it if they didn’t feel ready when the time came. 

Anyone interested in bring on the committee can forward a letter of interest to selectboard@burlington.org by June 21 to be considered for the committee. The Select Board plans to make appointments at its June 24 meeting.