Town board settles on April treasurer referendum

Town of Port Washington residents will be asked in April whether the town treasurer should be an appointed position, the Town Board agreed last month.

The referendum will be placed on the April ballot, the board said in approving an ordinance calling for the vote.

“It’s getting harder to find people to run for these elected positions,” Town Chairman Jim Melichar said Nov. 4.

But, he said, it’s often easier to get someone with the necessary qualifications to apply for an appointed position rather than having to run for office.

“You’ve got to have someone with the (needed) background,” Supr. Gary Schlenvogt said. “There’s a lot of stuff to know about.”

The change was suggested by Town Treasurer Mary Sampont, who noted that it’s been discussed periodically over the past several years.

This isn’t the first time the town has looked to change an elected position to an appointed one.

The town clerk became an appointed position following a 2014 referendum. It took the Town of Port two tries before that happened, however. The measure lost by 25 votes in 2010 before it was approved four years later.

If town voters approve the change in spring, the treasurer won’t be appointed until 2021, when Sampont’s term is up.