The town of Wilton has started advertising for an additional office staff member, after town officials claimed changes to staff hours have left the Town Clerk’s office in a difficult spot.
The Select Board made several department changes this summer, in anticipation of expected lost revenue due to the COVID-19 crisis. Among those changes were the hours of the Deputy Town Clerk Melissa Schultz and Town Clerk office assistant Jeanette Vinton. The Board increased Schultz’s hours, and decreased Vinton’s, which included eliminating Vinton’s benefits.
While Vinton’s new hours allow her to work up to 25 hours, Town Clerk Jane Farrell has told the Select Board that puts her in a category that is too expensive for her private health care costs. However, with the clerk’s office preparing for November elections while also handling regular business by phone or mail due to COVID-19 restrictions, the office is overloaded.
Farrell and the Select Board have battled over how to address the situation, with Farrell requesting the board reinstate Vinton’s full hours, but the majority of the board wasn’t willing to back that decision.
The town posted a position for an office assistant last week, asking for an individual willing to work between 9 and 12 hours a week. Farrell said she planned to discuss the issue with the Select Board on Monday, as currently, Vinton works between 16-18 hours per week, and a new hire would thus likely be working 7-9 hours per week.
Farrell said the intention is to keep Vinton on, and have an additional helper.
“She has some 21 years of experience as town clerk in the town of Mont Vernon, and six years here. That’s a huge amount of knowledge,” Farrell said.
Farrell said she pushed for the board to reinstate Vinton’s full hours, as she believes it will be difficult to hire anyone with the requisite experience right now. Currently, she said, programs in Concord which would train an assistant on the systems needed to assist the clerk’s office aren’t being held in Concord, due to the coronavirus, and with the upcoming election, the current office staff doesn’t have the capacity to do the training themselves, Farrell said.
“It’s crucial we have someone already trained,” Farrell said.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.