Fairhaven Town Meeting advances vote on converting town clerk to appointed post

FAIRHAVEN — November 9, 2023 — Fairhaven Town Meeting considered converting the elected town clerk position to an appointed one under Article 12 at the November 9 meeting. Proponents traced the proposal to a Town Clerk Study Committee formed by the Board of Selectmen in December 2017, which concluded the advantages of an appointed clerk were "too significant to ignore." Supporters noted the elected clerk holds no employee protections — no sick leave, no unemployment eligibility — and that the town has no mechanism to remove a non-performing clerk short of a recall election. The town clerk's duties now encompass oversight of elections, administration of the Open Meeting Law, Public Records Law, and State Ethics Law, and management of vital records. If Town Meeting approved the article, Fairhaven voters would decide the final question on the April annual town election ballot; the town's interim appointed clerk holds the position only through April 2025.