Changing the position of the town’s clerk and tax collector from elective to appointive will help New Sharon become a more professionally run town, Selectman Travis Pond said Tuesday.

Voters will decide whether to change the positions at a special town meeting Wednesday evening.

Candidates for the positions are elected in March and run for a one-year term. “It’s a popularity contest. It has nothing to do with professionalism,” Pond said.

Elected officials can create their own hours and work from home, Pond said. If people were appointed to the positions by the Board of Selectmen instead, the board would have a larger management role in terms of determining hours and duties for the positions, Pond added.

“As far as moving towards a more professionally run town, we are in the minority by having an elected person instead of an appointed person,” Pond said. Selectmen have recommended the change in positions.

Shifting to an appointive position also could help the employees. Nichols said elected officials have had difficulty getting personal bank loans because of the uncertainty of their employment.

Town Clerk Susan Anneley, who was elected in February, resigned earlier this year and was replaced recently by Pamela Griswold Adams, a previous tax collector and clerk for the town.

The special town meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Town Office.

Residents also will vote on the sale of town property, Town Office hours, renting the Town Office, a three-year contract for winter road maintenance and transferring assets from the defunct New Sharon Historical Society to the town’s new historical committee.


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