Should the town treasurer be an appointed position or an elected official?
Regardless of the answer, this much is clear — the town will have a new person filling the role as longtime Treasurer Maureen Kiernan announced she won’t seek another term in office.
“With the conclusion of this term, I will not run again,” she told the selectmen last week.
Ms. Kiernan spoke during the public hearing portion of a Board of Selectmen meeting, after three people spoke in favor of keeping the job as an elected position.
“I have no vested interested in the position anymore, but I do think it should remain an elected position,” she added. “Elected treasurers are not unique — more than 100 of the 169 municipalities in Connecticut have it as an elected position.”
As part of the revisions to the town’s charter, the selectmen had suggested making the treasurer and the tax collector appointed. Both are elected positions under the current charter.
The Charter Revision Commission’s initial recommendations were to go with appointment of the tax collector, but leave the treasurer elected. The selectmen have reaffirmed their suggestion to change both.
But changing the treasurer’s job wasn’t popular with the public during a hearing last week.
“What this does is take an elected, checks and balance position and replaces it with a rubber stamp,” said Dave Campbell, the chairman of the pension committee.
Earlier in the hearing, Republican Town Committee Chairman Joe Savino questioned the change.
“The treasurer position has a key role in town checks and balances — why are we removing these checks and balances?” he asked. “All this change does is put more power with the Board of Selectmen.
“The treasurer position has been an elected position since the late 70s-early 80s,” he added. “Each election cycle 3,000 to 4,000 people hold that person accountable based on her votes and performance — it’s not her fault that Maureen has only been opposed twice in 10 elections.”
Mr. Savino wasn’t the only member in the audience who raised the issue with getting rid of the elected position.
“How can an appointed town treasurer do his or her job when he or she is directly indebted to the Board of Selectmen?” John McNicholas wondered. “How can an appointed treasurer sign off in any ethical manner if tied to the Board of Selectmen?”
He called the move a “political power grab” that was unwarranted based on Ms. Kiernan’s history of overseeing the town’s external transfers.
“I’m not aware of any complaint filed against Maureen,” he said. “If they believed it was incompetence, then legal action could have been taken and there would have been an investigation into misconduct — that’s not the case here and that’s troubling.
“Clearly the selectmen know something that the public doesn’t or they want control of the town’s money — how it’s spent and when it’s spent.”
First Selectman Rudy Marconi countered that Mr. McNicholas’s statements “couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“The Board of Selectmen hasn’t even discussed who would appoint the treasurer,” he said. “The Board of Finance could do it.”
He cited the length it takes to verify transfers — up to 30 days on some financial moves — as one of the main reasons why the change was needed.
“As we grow, the fact that one person is responsible is an antiquated system,” he said. “I think we need a few more checks and balances for a more efficient government.
“To have one person looking over all the sums that are moved around on a daily basis is a challenge,” he added.
Mr. Campbell listened to Mr. Marconi’s defense, but was unimpressed.
“Are there any solid arguments for appointed?” he asked. “Why wouldn’t we trust the voters on this?”
He didn’t get an answer right away, but the selectmen did return to the subject during the discussion portion of their hearing.
Mr. Marconi said that the appointment would include a formal interview and candidates would need to submit résumé and references.
“It’s a professional position,” said Selectman Andy Bodner in support of the change. “It could be dangerous to have someone that’s not capable or qualified.
“We’re talking about a large sum of money.”
Looking to keep some of the decision in voters hands, Selectwoman Di Masters suggested that voters could determine who makes the appointment — the Board of Finance or some other body of government.
“It’s logical looking forward,” she said. “No power grabs.”
Mr. Marconi replied that nobody had brought that idea up during any of the previous conversations.
Nonetheless, the selectmen pushed forward with the idea to have the treasurer and the collector become appointed positions, not elected positions.
The selectmen reaffrimed a previous recommendaiton to the Charter Revision Commission, which is expected to make its final report to the selectmen.
Any charter changes must be approved by voters to take effect.
The final decision on the revisions to the charter will be made next Wednesday, Aug. 13, at 6:30 p.m. in town hall.