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Board pauses on full pay-plan changes after discovery of $30,000 in outside payments to registrars
Summary
Middlebury selectboard approved the 2026–27 pay plan but members said they will reconcile more than $30,000 paid 'outside of this process' to registrars before making permanent compensation changes; public commenters disputed the characterization and asked for documentation.
The Middlebury Selectboard on June 15 approved a 2026–27 pay plan that lists hourly rates for part-time roles but deferred final decisions about registrar-of-voters compensation after the chair said more than $30,000 had been paid outside the town's payroll process over five years.
The board's chair (Chair) told members she had compiled payroll information for the board of finance and found roughly $30,000 in payments made outside the formal process, and recommended the board await the board of finance's reconciliation before permanently changing the registrars' compensation. "At 5 years, it was $30,000," the chair said during discussion.
Committee members pressed for faster resolution. One member urged the board to add two lines to the pay plan to pay registrars for each election or to set an hourly rate, saying the registrars now perform additional duties required by state mandates. "We need to rectify this problem and get it off our table and start working on other things," a committee member said. Another member described the issue as a statewide problem that may require legislative or administrative fixes.
During public comment, Grama Barton, a registered voter, disputed implications that registrars had acted improperly and said long-standing local practice paid registrars a stipend and also compensated them for election work. "For 34 years, we paid the register of voters a stipend and also paid them for working the election," Barton said. Bill Callahan, who identified himself during comment, asked the board for a clear accounting of where the $30,000 came from and how it was paid; the chair said she would provide the board-of-finance materials given at a prior meeting.
The board voted to approve the overall pay plan; members noted amendments or reconciliation could follow after the board of finance completes its review of prior payments. No formal findings of misconduct were made at the meeting; members said the next step is a financial reconciliation by the board of finance and an agenda item at a future meeting.
The board also discussed procedural limits: the chair emphasized that registrars are elected officials who historically receive a stipend, and that converting to hourly pay raises budgeting and philosophical questions. The board agreed to return the matter to the board of finance for clarification and to place follow-up on a future agenda.
