CHATHAM — The Chatham Town Board voted at its Feb. 1 workshop meeting to change the wording for the town supervisor’s position.
The changes include requiring the supervisor to submit resolutions to the full board 48 hours before board meetings and some reporting changes regarding communications with state, county, local and school agencies.
The board voted 3-1, with Town Supervisor Donal Collins voting against the wording change.
Collins said the decision to change the wording of the town supervisor’s position is a product of “partisan politics at the town level.”
“There was a baseline used for the last 20 years,” he said. “With the recent election, certain board members had pushed for this description of own supervisor.”
Collins voted against change because he said it could trigger a mandatory referendum.
“I’m not resistant to anything being asked of me,” Collins said at the Feb. 1 meeting. “I just want to make sure we are compliant, and we are not in fact triggering a referendum by the adoption of these changes.”
Collins is working with town attorney Tal Rappleyea to determine if a public referendum would be needed to make the changes, he said at the meeting.
The new wording will appear in the documents for the town board’s organizational meetings, which occurs at the beginning of every year, but it is currently in effect.
Although the board voted in favor of the changes, if the town attorney determines a referendum is needed, it may have to rescind the resolution.
“The board voted positively for it,” Collins said. “If they do trigger a referendum, they would have to rescind the resolution.”
According to the agenda from the January 2021 board organizational meeting, the town supervisor was delegated to oversee the administration of all town and special district facilities, as well as supervise employees.
In 2022 and 2023, the wording of the position was changed to outline aspects of the supervisors work.
The changes included requiring the supervisor to send memos to town board members regarding employment changes and financial approvals, and submit a monthly report during a regular board meeting summarizing the issues the supervisor dealt with, including updates on Board of Supervisors’ meetings and county committees the supervisor may sit on.
The changes to the supervisor’s role in 2022 and 2023 also include appointing the supervisor a de-facto member of all citizen advisory committees, and suggested the supervisor attends the meetings when requested.
In 2024, according to the agenda from the town board’s Feb. 1 meeting, changes to the wording of the position included requiring the supervisor to submit resolutions to the board 48 hours before a scheduled board meeting.
The supervisor is also authorized to communicate with local and county governmental agencies, including school districts, as well as private and state entities and they are required to inform the board of any communication with those parties.
The other responsibilities that were outlined in 2022 and 2023 remained the same in 2024.