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Jacksonport puts clerk question on November ballot

• The Jacksonport Town Board approved a resolution to place a question on the November ballot asking voters if the town should appoint persons to fill the offices of town clerk and town treasurer. The positions are currently elected.

The referendum question will appear on the ballot as follows:

“Shall the person holding the office of town clerk or town treasurer, or both; or the combined office of town clerk and town treasurer in the Town of Jacksonport be appointed by the town board?”

Jacksonport’s current clerk, Eileen Phetteplace, is not seeking re-election. She pointed out that if the town is able to appoint the position it opens up a larger pool of applicants.

“If it’s an appointed position, then the clerk wouldn’t have to live within the town,” she said.

The Town of Egg Harbor will ask voters a similar question for the third time on November’s ballot. Door County Clerk Jill Lau said just eight of the county’s 19 municipalities still elect their clerks. A similar question in Nasewaupee was voted down a couple years ago. “People felt they should be able to choose,” Lau said. “But the clerk doesn’t really represent the people. They don’t have a vote, except in extremely rare circumstances.”

Lau said the clerk’s duties have grown so much that it’s crucial to fill the position with qualified candidates, not a popularity contest.

“The clerk now is an accountant, an election specialist, an administrative assistant, and has so many more responsibilities.”

• The City of Sturgeon Bay Common Council meetings have moved back up to start at 7 pm. During the summer, meetings were held at 8 pm. The council meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month.