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Town clerk urges election readiness, seeks funding to restore one‑room schoolhouse
Summary
Town Clerk Alice told councilors the clerk's office needs funding to support expanded early/absentee voting and recommended restoring a historic preservation professional‑services line and a capital request (estimate $63,000–$65,000) to renovate the town's one‑room schoolhouse.
Town Clerk Alice presented the clerk department’s FY requests at the March 12 workshop, emphasizing election staffing and historic‑preservation needs.
Elections: Alice said 2026 will include a gubernatorial election and predicted turnout above 5,000 voters, with absentee ballots expected to exceed 2,000. To maintain service levels during extended early‑voting periods she recommended $18,000 for seasonal/temporary staffing (a reduction from a prior fiscal year’s $26,000 request). She described prior staffing solutions — an outside elections coordinator and interdepartmental help — that preserved legal service levels but delayed other department work. The clerk proposed reallocating some food/meal expenses, modest increases in printing and professional services (printing estimate raised to $4,500; professional services for election machines projected at $12,000 for FY27) and clarified that ballot‑printing costs remain uncertain because the state is rebidding ballot‑printing contracts.
Historic preservation: Alice highlighted the municipal records collection and recent use of a state match grant to hire a collections assessor. She recommended restoring the contracted professional‑services line to FY25 levels (about $18,500) and pointed to an estimate of $63,000–$65,000 to renovate the town’s one‑room schoolhouse so it could safely resume tours and be used as a museum and rentable space. She said she drafted an ordinance to form a volunteer historic‑preservation committee; the draft is awaiting legal review.
Why it matters: The clerk’s requests address both immediate statutory responsibilities (elections, records access) and longer‑term cultural preservation. Councilors asked for clarity on statutory printing requirements and suggested relying more heavily on web PDFs and printing on demand to reduce costs.
Next steps: Staff will supply more precise printing and ballot‑printing projections once the state concludes its rebid; legal review is needed before the volunteer committee ordinance advances to council consideration.
