Select Board appoints Jones, Shepeluk as interim clerk, treasurer

January 4, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti

The Waterbury Select Board addressed the resignation of the town clerk and treasurer on Friday, unanimously appointing Assistant Town Clerk Beth Jones as interim clerk and Bill Shepeluk, the former town manager, as interim treasurer. 

The appointments came in an emergency board meeting held on Friday afternoon, the last day of work for Karen Petrovic, who stepped down as the town’s elected clerk and treasurer. 

Petrovic said she will be starting a new job with the state at the Department of Corrections next week. She leaves the municipal staff after 10 years, having served as town clerk and treasurer since June 2022. Petrovic was most recently elected to three-year terms to the clerk and treasurer positions in 2024. The remaining year for both terms will be on the Town Meeting Day ballot on March 3. Candidates have until Jan. 26 to file to run for office with their name on the ballot.   

Petrovic also serves as clerk and treasurer for Waterbury’s Edward Farrar Utility District, which runs the municipal water and wastewater operations. The district holds its annual meeting in early May and appoints a clerk and treasurer at that time. Petrovic said she will continue in her EFUD role, which involves a smaller time commitment than her full-time town clerk position. Municipal Manager Tom Leitz confirmed that plan.

Ahead of the votes, select board member Roger Clapp thanked Petrovic for her years of service to the municipalities. 

Jones has served as Waterbury’s part-time town clerk for 15 years and recently announced that she would like to retire in early 2026. She has not set a date for that yet. Jones said she was willing to serve in the town clerk role for a time, not necessarily until the March 3 election.

The select board’s motion to appoint Jones specified that it is “on a temporary basis.” Its action to appoint Shepeluk to the treasurer role was “until Town Meeting.”

At Friday’s brief special meeting to address the appointments to fill the vacancies, Select Board Chair Alyssa Johnson said further details about schedules and duties for the clerk and treasurer appointees would be discussed at Monday night’s regular board meeting which starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Steele Community Room and online via Zoom. The meeting agenda and Zoom link are posted on the board’s webpage at waterburyvt.com.