Somerville selectmen are proposing to appoint, rather than elect, the town clerk, treasurer and tax collector as part of a plan to increase pay for those positions and extend hours at the town office.
The pay hikes are responsible for most of the increase in the budget that’s on the warrant for Somerville Town Meeting on Friday and Saturday.
Ballot voting is 3-8 p.m. Friday at the town office, 72 Sand Hill Road. The only contested race is for third selectman. Martin Hisler and Darlene Landry are running to succeed Carolyn Doyle, who is stepping down because she no longer lives in Somerville full time.
The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at the former Somerville Elementary School, 665 Patricktown Road.
The warrant opens with three articles asking whether voters will make town clerk, treasurer and tax collector appointed positions and allow the Board of Selectmen to appoint those employees. Those are now elected posts with one-year terms.
First Selectman Susan Greer said the town lacks continuity the way things stand now. Somerville has had three tax collectors since 2012, for example.
In addition, if the selectmen appoint the employees, they will be able to choose people they know can do the job. The work takes a lot of specialized knowledge, and training can be costly, Greer said.
Those employees would also make more money if voters approve the budget the selectmen have prepared.
Greer said the employees and Somerville residents have asked for more hours at the town office, which is open on 2-6 p.m. on Monday and Friday and 11-2 p.m. on Wednesday. Residents who work during the week sometimes can’t make it to the town office when it’s open, and the employees have had to take home a lot of work, Greer said.
The new schedule hasn’t been decided, but Greer said it would total 20 hours per week, up from 11, and the office would probably remain closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The proposed budget for 2014-15 is $426,683.
Last year’s budget covered 18 months from Jan. 1, 2013, to this June 30, allowing Somerville’s budgeting to transition from the calendar year to a July-to-June fiscal year.
The budget for this Town Meeting is back to being 12 months, and on a monthly basis it’s 7.5 percent higher than last year’s. Most of the increase is due to the proposed raises for the town clerk, treasurer and tax collector.
Somerville’s tax rate is $15 per $1,000 in valuation. Greer said town officials don’t know precisely what the impact of the proposed budget would be, but their goal is not to raise the tax rate. An article on the warrant asks voters to approve taking up to $60,000 from the general fund to reduce taxes if needed.
The selectmen are also asking permission to pay off the town office loan with money from the general fund.
Somerville borrowed $45,000 in 2011 to buy a modular building to serve as the town office and put in a well, septic system and basement on its lot. The Budget Committee is recommending that the town pay off the remaining $31,320 to save thousands of dollars in interest. The 10-year loan has a 6 percent interest rate.
Landry, a lifelong Somerville resident, has served as a school board member and in local civic organizations. She said the town’s leaders have made town business more transparent and made progress on important issues like roads and assessing, and she wants to be part of that work.
“I hope that we can continue with the things we’ve already started,” she said.
No phone number was available for Hisler.
Susan McMillan — 621-5645
Twitter: @s_e_mcmillan
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