In a month’s time, Whitefield voters will decide whether or not to expand the board of selectmen from three to five members.
Speaking of a board decision made two weeks ago and announced Monday, chairman Steve McCormick said the Nov. 2 general election presented an “opportunity” to act on a matter “we’ve been talking about off and on.”
Other special town meeting referendum questions on the ballot ask whether to enact a new shoreland zoning ordinance and to repeal the outdated 1974 ordinance. A public hearing was held last June on those questions.
McCormick said there will be a public hearing on the board expansion and the other questions Mon., Oct. 18, beginning at 7 p.m. at the school.
“We talked originally about [putting an article on] the March town meeting [warrant],” McCormick said, “then thought if we were to do it now, it would be nice to elect the board members in March,” rather than waiting another year or holding a special town meeting soon thereafter.
The question on a specimen ballot reads: “Shall the town vote to enlarge the Board of Selectmen from three to five members, each with a staggered three-year term, but for transition purposes, the fourth and fifth members shall have initial terms of three years and two years, respectively. The transition would become effective with the March 19, 2011, Annual Town Meeting. Explanation: In every third year, there would be one vacancy. In all other years, there would be two vacancies.”
McCormick said board member Sue McKeen had consulted with Maine Municipal Association (MMA) on the wording of the article and on forming a five-member board.
Monday evening, McKeen pointed to a stack of papers piled on the desk. “See this? We never get to this,” she said of the pending business that receives scant attention, despite the board’s convening its meetings at 5 p.m., an hour earlier than it used to.
“It’s frustrating. Right now, we’re just putting out fires, just reacting to problems every week,” she said.
With a larger board, she added, a couple of members could focus on assessment, especially questions about how to value backlands, while someone else could tackle public assistance or look into grant writing.
Selectman Frank Ober agreed. “We’d get more voices heard and spread the work load out more.”
Selectmen have been inundated with puzzled and upset property owners since a townwide reassessment and adjustments were made over the past 10 months, followed by steep tax bills. By the Sept. 27 meeting, the tide of landowners questioning their taxes had ebbed, but individuals still were poking their heads in the door to request changes or clarification.
On Tuesday, McCormick, who couldn’t attend Monday’s meeting, said of the five-person board, “We’ve talked to some citizens about it. There are mixed feelings. Some think it’s a positive thing. [Others] say a larger board could cause more discussion, slow down the process.”
Paying for the extra representation is an unknown. “Budget-wise, I don’t have any idea whether we’d divide $12,000 among five people” or change the amount, he said. Until this year, when the board took a 20 percent cut, each member received $5000.
Former long-term selectman and board chair Jerry Nault gave several reasons for shifting nine or 10 years ago from the more traditional three-member arrangement. “We felt we wanted broader representation from the community” and that there’d be less chance of specific factions “being dominant on the board,” he said.
In addition, the larger number usually assures a quorum. Even if some members were absent, there’d be “a comfortable number of people there to allow the meetings to go forward. [With] two absences on a three-member board, you’re out of business,” he remarked.
Nault said he couldn’t be certain, but he believes a long-range plan suggested that Windsor switch to the larger board and town manager format.
There was no pressing issue influencing the shift, he said; in fact, the absence of pressure was a positive factor. “There was a good feeling that it was an appropriate time,” he recalled.
Looking back on the three-member board aided by a town clerk, Nault said, “I’m amazed anything got done under the circumstances.” The chairperson normally spent 25-30 hours a week in the town office, he said, going over matters with the clerk.
He believes the perception of how unfair the burden was to the chair and to the town precipitated the change. Rather than opt for an administrative assistant, a committee that formed recommended a five-member board and manager.
Appointing a committee that took the time to investigate and to talk to citizens was a smart approach, Nault said. “It wasn’t a slam dunk that people would embrace this without their questions being answered and their concerns being addressed. Change is difficult. The more you can discuss it, the better off you are. It doesn’t hurt.”
In Whitefield, having a couple of extra selectmen able to spend time on land issues could complement a citizens committee focusing on real estate taxes. This past summer, resident Steve Smith advocated establishing a panel with authority over tax assessing.
That committee, said McKeen on Monday, would be advisory only and would be appointed by the board. She compared its purpose and function to the 2009-10 citizens committee that gathered information for selectmen on constructing a central fire station, which voters later approved.
In late August, Smith submitted wording for an article to appear on the March 2011 town meeting warrant, asking to establish a “five-member assessors board to assume all responsibilities associated with real estate tax assessing from the present three member selectmen’s board.”
McCormick said the board had consulted MMA on Smith’s submission. “We’re still working on the wording of it. It will be presented at town meeting” as previously planned, he stated.
McCormick said there is another matter that would have to be settled. “Where do we meet? It’s cozy right now,” he said, referring to the crowded selectmen’s office where there’s scarcely room, between filing cabinets, copy machines, boxes and tables, for three people to sit at the desk – certainly not five. The public perches on the two or three folding chairs available.
Voter resistance has stalled plans for a new town center, but a central fire and rescue station was approved at March town meeting. The building is scheduled to be completed on the lot adjoining the town office by spring. It’s likely a meeting room there could provide the needed space for a larger board, McCormick said.
