The Nelson Town Board is considering making a change in the way three of its elected town positions are administered. The board is preparing to discuss at its next monthly meeting proposals to make both the town highway superintendent and town clerk positions appointed rather than elected, as well as to change the term of office for the town supervisor from two years to four years.
“It’s been done in at least four or five of the towns,” said Nelson Supervisor Roger Bradstreet. “There’s still people you hate to see lose an election because they are not political. These two people we have [Highway Superintendent Jack Sevier and Town Clerk Debbie Costello] are very good and we’d like to keep them.”
Bradstreet said the change would also work the other way — if the town ever had a highway superintendent or clerk that the board wanted to dispose of for some reason, it would be easier for the board if the position was appointed.
“We are looking at all three [potential changes],” Bradstreet said. “It’s not the person, it’s the position.”
The board will present and discuss proposals for all three position changes at its next regular monthly meeting on Aug. 13, Bradstreet said. If the board approves the proposals, there will be a public hearing on them to “get consensus from the public,” after which they would appear as public referendums on the November ballot, he said.
In 2013, the town of Cazenovia made two of these same changes when its board approved proposals to change the town clerk position from elected to appointed and to extend the town supervisor’s term from two to four years. Both of those were approved by the public in a town-wide referendum vote that November. The town had previously changed the town highway superintendent position from elected to appointed in 2005.
The next town board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, in the Nelson town office. All town board meetings are open to the public.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
