Town of Oconto Falls considers appointed clerk, treasurer

Residents of the Town of Oconto Falls will be asked to decide Nov. 8 whether to make the town clerk and town treasurer appointed, rather than elected, positions.

The referendum is the result of a suggestion made at the annual town meeting in April.

According to a fact sheet provided by the town, the main reasons to make the change would be the ability to hire based upon qualifications and the ability to remove based upon cause. Discussion took place among the Town Board and the electors present, and a motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved to take the question to referendum.

The ordinance allowing this change, 39-2022, was then approved at the May Town Board meeting. Meeting minutes from the annual meeting, the May meeting and the ordinance in its entirety can be found on the town website, townofocontofalls.org.

Jake Langenhahn, outreach specialist at the Wisconsin Towns Association, wrote an article for the WTA July 2022 magazine citing the pros and cons of either option.

Appointed clerks and treasurers, Langenhahn wrote, do not have to be town residents; are essentially town employees and therefore have their qualifications, job descriptions, and wages/benefits set by the town board; cannot be removed by the board during their term of office, unless there is cause for removal (misconduct in office or neglect of duties); and can be appointed for a term not to exceed 3 years at one time.

Elected clerks and treasurers do have to be town residents; are answerable to the electorate and cannot be required by the board to hold specific qualifications or obtain training (unless required by state law, such as election training for clerks); cannot be required by the board to keep set hours at the town hall or be required to work a certain number of hours per week; can be recalled from office like other elected officials; and can also be removed from office by a majority vote of the board, but only if the reason for removal is continued physical inability to perform the duties of the office or gross neglect of duty, Langenhahn wrote.