Following general approval at a public hearing, the Town of Bremen will place an item on the Nov. 2 ballot asking voters to approve a recall ordinance, which would create a process for voters to remove any elected town official whom they deem is not adequately serving the town.
About a dozen residents attended the public hearing on Oct. 7; almost all in attendance were in favor of the proposed ordinance, said Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Wendy Pieh.
The Bremen Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Sept. 16 to initiate the process of creating the ordinance after resident Hank Nevins brought to their attention, the town does not have any recourse to remove town officials who are not performing their duties.
Bremen has no town charter, so removal of a selectmen must be governed by town ordinance, Nevins said.
Some residents raised concerns about the possibility of “witch hunts” and expressed concerns that having a recall ordinance in place will make it even harder to get people to run for town office, Pieh said.
“I don’t like the idea of witch hunts, but it’s good for a town to have a process in place for removing town officials,” Pieh said.
Pieh pointed out that in extreme cases – for example, if a town official is incarcerated or fails to attend meetings, but refuses to step down – the town currently has no recourse.
“I was initially shocked that we didn’t have this in place already,” Pieh said.
The ordinance is designed to help prevent “witch hunts,” or cases where an individual resident with a vendetta against an official could create undue problems for town government, Pieh said.
According to the proposed ordinance, in order for the recall process to begin, one percent of the town – about six of seven residents – must request a recall at the Town Office. Once one percent have asked, petitions must be drafted stating a specific reason that the official should be recalled. If 10 percent of the town signs the petition, a special town vote is held by secret ballot.
There are also stipulations in the proposed ordinance requiring that officials must have at least six months left in their term to be eligible for recall, and no more than one recall attempt can be made against a single town official in a 12-month period.
In response to residents’ concerns about the ordinance preventing candidates from running for town seats, Pieh said she didn’t see that happening.
“Most towns have something like this in place already,” Pieh said. “I think that when people run, they’re committed to serving the town.”
