Strafford County commissioners nominate officers, unanimously appoint deputies

At a Strafford County Commissioners meeting, commissioners nominated officers and unanimously approved several deputy appointments required under state statute.

The nominations filled statutory requirements that certain county officers have deputies in place. Commissioners approved nominations for deputies in the treasurer’s and registered-deeds offices and accepted a county attorney’s nomination for a deputy.

Commissioner 1, acting as chair in the meeting, opened nominations and moved that the slate of officers be approved; a second was recorded and the motion carried unanimously. Commissioner 1 explained the statutory requirement for deputies and noted written requests from department heads recommending specific candidates.

Pam Arnold, the county treasurer (referenced by the chair), requested reappointment of the deputy treasurer position that has historically been held by Janet (last name not specified in the record). The commission moved to appoint Janet as deputy treasurer; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

Catherine Berry (registered-deeds) recommended reappointing Lynn Williams as deputy in that office. The commission moved, seconded and approved that nomination by voice vote.

The county attorney indicated she would like to continue Joch/Jochen Barth (name as recorded) in a deputy role; the commission recorded a nomination from the county attorney and approved it by voice vote. The chair noted the statute requires the county attorney to meet with the commission when appointing new deputies.

The chair closed the appointments portion by saying the sheriff separately nominates a chief deputy under statute and that the sheriff’s nomination is handled differently. All recorded deputy appointments in this meeting were approved unanimously.

The commission then moved on to other agenda items.