Changing our elected Town Clerk and Treasurer to appointed positions

At a recent Town of Spider Lake town meeting our Town Chairman made a motion to have the positions of Town Clerk and Town Treasurer changed to appointed positions and this change placed as a referendum on the ballot of the election coming up this spring.

This is only my opinion and each of us need to make up our minds as to how we will vote on this referendum. But we need all the facts to make an informed decision.

Historically these have been elected positions. It has served our township well. The Clerk and Treasurer run for these positions with their experience and skill sets presented to the voters. Also, they must be residents of the Town of Spider Lake, (TOSL). We have the ability to vote for who we think can fulfill these positions with their loyalty to the TOSL and not to an individual person.

Their positions and the jobs they do have a strict set of rules and regulations overseen by the State of Wisconsin. For myself, I have never doubted their skills or loyalty to the TOSL.

The only information provided to the residents has been an opinion piece written by an appointed town clerk in a Wisconsin town. The piece stated it was the pros and cons of having appointed clerks and treasurers versus elected. It did none of that. It made the case for appointed positions without giving any of the downfalls of changing from elected positions.

These are the questions and concerns I have.

1. What is the current pay rate that an appointed positions would require? Is that more or less then what we are currently budgeted for?
2. Would we be required to provide health insurance, vacation pay and holiday pay? What would that cost be?
3. As appointed/hired employees they are not required to live in the TOSL. They will not be invested in the success of our town.
4. There will no longer be any oversight on the actions of our Town Board of Supervisors or Chairman. Right now we have people in those two positions who take their jobs seriously and with our treasurer, we have someone who is both experienced and invested in protecting the financial concerns of the taxpayers.
5. As taxpayers we will no longer have a say as to who holds these very important positions.

Our town is like any other business. We need management at the top who listens to the concerns of his/her fellow elected officials and the residents. If there is a personality clash then it’s time to sit down and find a way to work together for the better of the town. Good managers find a way to create a working team.

No one person has all the skills required to have a successful town. We need a variety of people and their skills brought to the table. Ego needs to take a back seat and our Town Chairman and Board of Supervisors should be exhibiting a willingness to work together.

I will be voting no on this referendum. I want my vote to count. I want the right to select, through elections, our Town Clerk and Town Treasurer.