Minutes of the Special Meeting of
TOWN OF BROOKFIELD SELECTBOARD
Town Clerk’s Office
September 22, 2021
THOSE PRESENT: John Benson, Chair; Jeff Kimmel, Dennis LaRocque, Brenda Flint, and Kate Threlkeld, Members; Amy Ingrassia
1. Call to Order: The Chair, Mr. Benson called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.
2. Adjustments to the Agenda: None
3. Public Comments: None
4. Personnel – Administrative Assistant:
The current Administrative Assistant to the Selectboard recently submitted her resignation notice. Mr. Benson provided a brief description of the position, reporting that the AA schedule is typically 3 days a week, with approximately 16 to 20 hours of work. Among the current and previous tasks and projects associated with the position have been:
• Payroll tracking and preparation.
• Billing for accounts payable warrants.
• Working with the state NEMRC (New England Municipal Resource Center) software towns use for managing functions such as utility bills, tax bills, land records, and dog licenses.
• A host of functions related to Town and Board operations, working with the Highway Department, and managing and tracking grant funding and available programs (including the new federal ARPA program).
Ms. Flint noted that some of the AA functions (such as payroll and AP warrants) are primarily under the purview of the Town Treasurer, and might be conducted by a Town Assistant Treasurer. The Board will need to verify that there are no conflicts of interest in appointing people to positions such as Administrative Assistant, Assistant Treasurer, or Assistant Town Clerk. The Board might also opt to appoint an interim (or temporary) person for the AA position.
For now, the Board will be need to formulate a job description and recruitment advertisement for the Administrative Assistant opening. Ms. Threlkeld offered to research ads for similar job openings, identify and highlight the various tasks performed by the AA, and draft a sample ad to present to the Board for review and discussion. The hope is that the ad can be posted and published by the end of September, and resumes/applications would be submitted by mid-October.
5. Other Proper Business: None
6. Adjournment: on motion of Mr. Benson, Ms. Threlkeld second, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn at 7:27 p.m.