Town Meeting voters on Monday rejected a proposal that would have given the Sewer Commission more authority and removed oversight from the Board of Selectmen.

In petitioning for the measure to be included on the Town Meeting agenda, Cromesett resident and former sewer commissioner Marilyn Jordan asked voters to consider making the Sewer Commissioners autonomous from the Board of Selectmen. Jordan argued that the commission's concerns for ratepayers fall upon deaf ears in the current arrangement, making it unable to enact change.

Elected in 2015, Jordan was among the first members of the commission. Peter Dunlop defeated her in her bid for re-election this month.

The town's Sewer Department (Water Pollution Control Facility) is overseen by a paid Sewer Superintendent, who answers to the volunteer, elected Board of Sewer Commissioners, with further oversight from the Board of Selectmen. Formerly, the Board of Selectmen served as Sewer Commissioners in a dual role.

Proponents for the creation of the Sewer Commission argued that the two jobs were too much for the part-time, volunteer Selectmen, and thus, the effort to create the commission was approved by Town Meeting voters in 2010. Because it was a change to the town's Charter, it had to be approved by the state legislature. On its way through the legislative process, there was an issue with the wording of the bill.

By the time the town found out, state officials felt that the bill had become "stale," and asked that the measure go back to Town Meeting for approval. When it did, in the fall of 2012, voters sent it to further study, arguing that it needed a thorough review.

Voters did not designate a committee to review the proposal, though, so the Selectmen, by default, were charged with determining what to do. The Selectmen ultimately decided not to partake in discussion of legislation that would create the Board of Sewer Commissioners.

Citizen petitioners had the measure again placed on the Town Meeting agenda in April of 2013, and it was approved. There was again a delay in getting the Charter change through the state legislature, due to hang ups on legal language and legislators concerned that town leaders were not supportive of the measure.

The bill was ultimately approved, and the first board of Sewer Commissioners was elected in April of 2015.

After nearly a year on the job, Jordan said a continual lack of urgency and attention from the Board of Selectmen and town administrator prompted her to propose the measure that would remove Selectmen and town administrator oversight and give the board the authority to hire attorneys, financial advisors, engineers, etc. The proposal also requested the Sewer Commissioner have a seat at the table at during the union collective bargaining process. She said the changes would be at no expense to taxpayers.

Any registered voter can petition for an article to appear on the Town Meeting agenda. Jordan needed only the signatures of 10 registered voters.

"I'm here to discuss the facts," she told Town Meeting. "Delays, lack of recognition, and communication by the Selectmen/town administrator resulted in tens of thousands of lost revenue for the ratepayers."

Finance Committee Chair David Heard worried that the proposal was not entirely legal, and noted that as one town government, every body should be accountable to the Selectmen and town administrator.

Selectman Peter Teitelbaum and others called the measure wasteful, saying it would cost the town more money by duplicating services already provided by the town.

Sewer Commissioner Peter Dunlop, who defeated Jordan at the ballot, said he saw "nothing but controversy, not cooperation" with the change.

Sewer Commissioner Donna Bronk, agreeing with Finance Committee members who said that the commissioners should not be involved in collective bargaining, noted that changes would be helpful for all.

"We had great meetings, we had a bunch of things we wanted changed. I thought everything was going well," she said. In regard to the proposal, she continued: "There's no animosity here."

Resident Bill Heaney attempted to modify the proposal to instead abolish the Board of Sewer Commissioners completely, but the effort was quashed by Town Moderator Claire Smith, who said Town Meeting rules would not allow such a drastic change to the proposal.

The effort ultimately failed by a majority vote.