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Middlebury selectmen: registrars cannot receive extra Election‑Day pay; moderator and assistant rates set
Summary
After debate over past practice and statute, the Board of Selectmen voted April 6 to deny additional Election‑Day pay to the Registrars for a recent town primary, set the moderator rate at $21 per hour and assistant registrars at $26 per hour, and tabled a broader pay‑plan adoption for further review.
At its April 6, 2026 meeting, the Middlebury Board of Selectmen voted to deny additional Election‑Day pay to the Registrars of Voters for the Republican Town Committee primary and established rates of $21 per hour for the Moderator and $26 per hour for each Assistant Registrar.
The decision followed a lengthy discussion over whether past practice had allowed Registrars additional compensation beyond their annual stipend. Selectman Brian Shaban said some workers had expected to be paid for work already performed and urged the board to make them whole. Registrar Francis L. Barton Jr. argued that prior practice had created an expectation of payment for multiple elections and early‑voting duties.
Town Attorney Barbara M. Schellenberg told the board she had reviewed statutes and case law and said the law limits compensation for elected officials. "Neither the state or any political subdivision of the state (a municipality) shall pay or grant to any elected official of the state or political subdivision of the state any compensation greater than the amount of compensation set at the beginning of such official's term of office," she said, citing the constitutional principle that guided her legal advice.
First Selectwoman Jennifer A. Mahr proposed a motion to not pay the Registrars for the DTC Primary, to pay the Moderator $21 per hour and to pay both Assistant Registrars $26 per hour; Selectman Shaban seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Mahr also read details of a proposed Registrars' pay plan but that motion was not seconded. Shaban then moved to table the pay‑plan discussion so absent Selectman J. Paul Vance could review the proposal; Mahr seconded and the board voted unanimously to table the plan.
The board and town counsel emphasized that the stipend for elected Registrars is set by the town pay plan and that any change to elected officials' compensation must comply with statute and be reflected in the budget. First Selectwoman Mahr noted the budget public hearing scheduled for April 7 as an opportunity to address pay questions during the formal budget process.
The board’s actions affect how the town will compensate election workers for upcoming elections this year. The motion instructs staff to apply the set hourly rates for the Moderator and Assistant Registrars and leaves the broader pay‑plan changes for later review.
Next procedural steps: the proposed Registrars' pay plan remains tabled pending further input from the absent selectman and subsequent budget deliberations.
