Voters discuss Town Clerk salary after amendment proposed mid-Town Meeting

Apr 26, 2022

An amendment proposed in the middle of Town Meeting sparked discussion over the town clerk’s salary Tuesday night.

The original article brought to Town Meeting proposed a salary of $95,000 for the town clerk for the 2023 fiscal year.

Brenda Eckstrom, who is also a candidate for a one-year Select Board term, proposed an amendment to lower that salary to $88,000 next year, up $3,000 from the current fiscal year. Though the amendment didn’t ultimately pass, it did lead to a short discussion between town residents.

She asked what the clerk’s salary had been in previous years, and Town Administrator Derek Sullivan confirmed that the clerk’s salary was set at $85,000 in this fiscal year.

Eckstrom questioned why the clerk’s salary was rising while many town departments are struggling. She said she’s also concerned about the pay of some other town employees, noting that Town Meeting doesn’t have the opportunity to vote specifically on other high-earning officials’ salaries. 

“I think we’re paying too much on all of them,” Eckstrom said after invoking the Town Administrator’s salary — $191,881 in 2021.

Select Board Chair Judith Whiteside defended the clerk’s pay as being brought in line with similar communities in the area. Whiteside said she averaged the town clerk salaries of 23 communities with similar populations to Wareham, which reportedly came to a calculated $89,000.

Whiteside also referenced the clerk’s work in handling the 2020 presidential election, which saw an especially large turnout.

Jody Santagate, a Select Board candidate for a different seat than Eckstrom, said the salary discussion was “nothing personal” but worth considering.

She said if the town was comparing salaries of administrators, that the town should also compare salaries and staffing in other departments — are other towns also short-staffed in police departments and schools, she asked.

“Should we be increasing wages if we’re already strapped for cash as it is,” she asked.

Eckstrom’s amendment did not pass a simple majority, and the original item setting the clerk’s salary at $95,000 passed soon thereafter.