Clerk Position May Be Eliminated

As noted in the last town newsletter, town leaders are leaning towards eliminating the clerk-treasurer position recently vacated by Karen Carlisle. The new accounting services through BIAS will cover budgeting and accounting, most of the building permit duties are now automated through the new building consultant and many of the duties for utility clerk will be automated with BIAS.

In addition, the council is considering a new "imaging" system that will put most of the town's documents on-line, saving time and effort on public information requests. The mayor noted after the last meeting there will be some upfront costs for these new services, but they will be more convenient for users and will be less costly in the long run. The talk is to promote the utility clerk to a new position that covers the remaining administrative work.

A final decision has not been made yet, but the 2010 budget is based on this new direction. The official budget that the council approved at their meeting last week is below. More details were discussed at the last study session (which I did not attend) and more action is expected at upcoming council meetings. Be sure to attend yourself and get a first-hand view of all the action.