Information about the November 3rd, 2020 election

 

Town of Cable Referendums Explanation November 3rd General Election.

Question 1: “Shall the persons holding the administrative offices of Town Clerk and Town Treasurer in the Town of Cable be appointed by the Town Board based on qualifications after an established procedure and subject to review procedures rather than elected on a ballot?”

If approved, the Town Board would appoint the Town Clerk and Town Treasurer through a hiring process rather than having the officers elected by the Town Electors at the Spring elections.  

Currently, the Town Clerk and Town Treasurer are elected for two-year terms at the Spring Elections.  These officers are not required to possess any qualifications, are not required to obtain training, are not subject to performance standards and cannot be removed from their positions except through an election.  

Both the Clerk and Treasurer are administrative officers, not policy making, not voting Board members like Board Supervisors.  These positions require skills in municipal government, administration and finance and the Board would establish a hiring process involving job postings, interviews and review of qualifications.  Appointing these positions through the hiring process would not restrict job applicants to Town residents, which would broaden the pool of qualified applicants.  These officers would also be subject to performance standards and could be subject to removal for cause.  

Question 2: “Shall the Town Board be expanded to five members commencing with the 2021 Spring Election as established in Ordinance 45-23 that was conditionally approved by the Town Board?”

If approved, The Ordinance conditionally approved by the Town Board on August 19, 2020 would go into effect to expand the Town Board to five members effective with the Spring 2021 election. 

At the 2019 Annual Meeting, Town Electors adopted a resolution recommending that Cable’s Town Board be expanded to five members to broaden voter representation.  

• Five-member town boards are found in other Bayfield County towns with larger populations and annual budgets over $1.0 million similar to Cable (Barnes, Bayfield and Bell). 
• The Board quorum would increase from two to three, which ensures more voting members on Board actions, especially in situations where the Board experiences an absence or recusal for conflicts of interest.  
• A larger quorum would allow informal communication between members without requiring public notices and formal meeting procedures thus preventing open meeting violations and making for easier and efficient board administration. 
• The Board would have continuity of leadership and operation because two of four supervisors would be elected in alternating years eliminating the possibility of full Board turnover.

 

The proposed ordinance establishes a mechanism where two of four Supervisors would be elected in alternating years.  The cost of the action would be about $6,000 per position.