Wheatland town officials seemed ready Monday to try again to pass a referendum to make the town clerk and town treasurer appointed, but his time after more effort to explain the move, its advantages to the town and the motivation behind it.
“We will work to get more people educated,” said town Chairman Bill Glembocki.
In April, town voters defeated a referendum that would have been the first step of changing the positions from being filled by election to being appointed by the Town Board.
At Monday’s board meeting, officials expressed some sense that voters may not have understood the issue and the board’s motivation and wanted to try again, perhaps in conjunction with the August primary election or November general election.
Glembocki acknowledged the issue should have been discussed more so it was not viewed as a conspiracy or a power play.
Supervisor Kelly Wilson summarized the differences between appointed and elected clerks:
- Elected clerks have to be town residents, cannot be required by the Town Board to hold specific qualifications or obtain training (unless required by state law), can be recalled from office like other elected officials and are elected to two-year terms in odd numbered years.
- Appointed clerks do not have to be town residents, can have required qualifications set by the Town Board, can be removed by the board for cause during a term or not re-appointed at the end of a term and can be appointed for a maximum term of three years at a time.
The change is being prompted by long-time Clerk Sheila Siegler potentially not running for re-election in the future, though she has not made a formal announcement of her intentions.
“My term is ending in April (2023),” Siegler said Monday. “I’m not leaving before then.”
Glembocki had high praise for Siegler’s work as clerk.
“We’ve been very lucky we have had Sheila since 1977,” Glembocki said. “All I ever get is compliments about the job this woman does here.”
But leaving the position elected means the town could end up with an inexperienced and unqualified individual who happens to win an election, Glembocki explained.
“If you leave this an elected postion, you could get an 18 year old that didn’t even pass math get elected and that would be our clerk in the town of Wheatland,” Glembocki said.
Siegler emphasized that an elected clerk is only bound to perform the duties in state statutes, but that practically in a one-person office she does much more. An elected clerk in the future could not be compelled to do so.
“If you’re the only person in the office, you have a lot of extra duties,” Siegler said.
A key component of having an appointed clerk would be not being limited to town residents to find a qualified individual.
“Your choices if you’re electing can be pretty slim,” Siegler said.
Of the eight Western Kenosha County municipalities, only Wheatland and Brighton currently have elected clerks and treasurers (both roles are combined in one person in Brighton).
Deborah Vos, the town treasurer for 25 years, said Monday she might run for one more term.
While the board said they are willing to hold more discussion and other informational events, Siegler also encouraged voters who have questions about the issue to reach out to town officials.
“If people had questions, I’d wish they would ask,” Siegler said.
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