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Selectboard given authority to appoint town clerk and treasurer; residents debate nonresident appointments
Summary
Voters approved articles authorizing the selectboard to appoint the town clerk and treasurer, enabling recruitment beyond town residents later if a separate statutory article is adopted; residents praised long-serving Town Clerk Rosemary and urged care if the board chooses an appointee.
Voters approved separate articles allowing the selectboard to appoint a town clerk and a town treasurer (17 VSA §26:51 e/f), a procedural change the board said will permit broader recruitment and on‑the‑job training if Rosemary (the current clerk) steps down.
A selectboard member told the meeting: "It is the select board's intention if this passes to appoint Rosemary to continue for the next year." Several residents, including Beth Foy, praised Rosemary’s service and urged approval; at the same time, resident Walter Pomeroy pointed out that state law requires a separate article to permit appointment of a nonresident, and that a special town meeting might be required to allow the selectboard to appoint someone who does not live in Johnson.
The board acknowledged the statutory constraint and said a follow‑up article or special meeting would be scheduled if they wished to allow nonresident appointments. The two articles authorizing appointment were approved by voice vote.
