NORTHFIELD — As the town prepares for its non-partisan caucus and May election, town officials are questioning a proposed change to the number of seats on the Selectboard from three to five.
The town caucus is scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall. Town Clerk Dan Campbell said the caucus will require 25 registered voters to attend the meeting to nominate candidates for open positions, including the potential extra Selectboard seats.
“What’s unique about this year is the possible Selectboard change,” he noted.
As of Thursday, the caucus had not been canceled out of concerns over COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus. Campbell noted, “we will take every precaution possible to protect our citizens.”
At May’s town election, residents will be asked to vote on a proposal to change the number of Selectboard members from three to five. This will require residents to run for the two potentially new seats, with one carrying a two-year term and the other a one-year term, Campbell said.
An additional three-year term needs to be filled regardless, as current Selectboard member Tracy Rogers has announced she will not run for re-election. Selectboard Chair Alex Meisner and member Heath Cummings’ terms are not yet expired, so they will remain on the board.
While candidates will run for the available seats, the change in the board’s number of members may not pass in May, requiring that candidates run for positions that may or may not be available.
“Basically, they will vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on the five-member board” in May, Campbell said. “While the individual may get votes, the entire motion still might fail.”
In March 2019, the Town Governance Study Committee held a forum to discuss the possible change. A five-member board was originally recommended on the grounds that it would bring more diversity of opinions to the Selectboard and distribute the workload required of members. Following an affirmative Annual Town Meeting vote in May, the proposal was sent to the state for approval. Now, it must go through the final step of passing during this year’s town election to be enacted.
Campbell expressed concern with the possibility of the Selectboard format change passing, but not having enough candidates to fill all five seats. He said this could spell trouble for having a regular quorum — the number of members needed for a meeting to be legal.
Right now, the three-member board has a quorum with just two members. With a five-member board, three members would need to be present for each meeting, which Campbell said can be difficult with everyone’s busy schedules and personal careers. Additionally, Town Administrator Andrea Llamas said Selectboard members cannot be appointed. A special election would need to be held to fill any vacant seats.
Llamas and Meisner shared Campbell’s concern of maintaining a quorum. Llamas also noted this could result in a Selectboard that consists of three members with little experience in town government.
As of last week, Campbell said he had yet to hear from anyone interested in running for the open Selectboard seats.
Campbell said positions for which candidates can be nominated at Tuesday’s non-partisan caucus include:
■a three-year term on the Board of Assessors;
■a three-year term on the Board of Health;
■two positions with three-year terms on the Board of Library Trustees;
■a five-year term and a four-year term on the Planning Board;
■two three-year terms for the Recreation Commission;
■a three-year term as sewer commissioner;
■a three-year term for a veteran to the Board of Trustees of Veterans Memorials & Veterans Services, and a three-year term for a non-veteran;
■and three Selectboard seats with varying term lengths.
Anyone nominated to the various positions during the caucus must receive at least 8 percent of the vote from those in attendance on Tuesday. The nominee will also need to sign a certificate of nomination form within 72 hours of the caucus.
If a candidate does not sign the nomination form by the deadline, it is deemed that the candidate does not intend to run for that position, Campbell explained. If two candidates are nominated for the same position, both names will appear on the ballot. If more than two people are nominated, the two nominees with the highest number of votes will be placed on the ballot.
Those wishing to run for office after the caucus may file nomination papers from the Campbell’s office. Nomination papers must be returned to him by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24. While the top two nominees for each position from the caucus are put on the ballot, Campbell said that properly filing the nomination papers will also guarantee a candidate a running seat.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.