Select Board calls special Friday a.m. meeting to consider town clerk position

May 14, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti 

The Waterbury Select Board appears to be moving toward filling the vacant town clerk position with a special meeting called for Friday morning at 8:45 a.m. 

The board posted an agenda on Wednesday afternoon for a special meeting that falls before its next regular meeting on Tuesday, May 19. 

The agenda calls for an executive session—which involves the board meeting not in public—to discuss the appointment or employment of a public officer.

In an email to the Waterbury Roundabout, board Chair Martha Staskus confirmed that the item pertains to the town clerk vacancy. 

At its most recent regular meeting last week on May 5, the board heard from Waterbury resident and lawyer Wesley Pollock, who has expressed interest in the vacant town clerk position. The board briefly spoke with Pollock and promised to schedule a formal interview with both a group of town staff members and with the full select board. Dates for those interviews were not set at that time. Pollock’s partner is the town’s new Recreation Director Erika Linskey, who started in that staff role on Dec. 31. 

Board members asked Pollock several questions on May 5. Member Roger Clapp asked whether he understood the position was full-time. Pollock, who has never served as a town clerk, indicated that his law practice is part-time and that he was prepared for the clerk role to be a full-time commitment. Vice Chair Don Schneider suggested that Pollock review the state statute that outlines the duties of the town clerk, and Pollock said he had done that. 

Vermont town and city clerks serve as key members of municipal government. Their responsibilities are wide-ranging and include recording land records and vital records such as birth and death certificates. They issue dog licenses, marriage licenses, fish and game licenses, liquor permits, and motor vehicle registrations. They post meeting notices, serve as notaries, and issue oaths of office to town officials. 

Clerks are a municipality’s top election official and are responsible for overseeing voter checklists and administering all elections. They also serve on the Board of Civil Authority and the Board of Abatement, which handles tax questions. 

Unusual circumstances

On Town Meeting Day on March 3, no one ran as a declared candidate for town clerk or treasurer. 

Former Town Clerk and Treasurer Karen Petrovic had stepped down from those roles at the end of December. Afterward, Beth Jones, who previously was the town’s part-time assistant clerk, was appointed as interim town clerk. Bill Shepeluk, who retired from the municipal manager position in 2022, was appointed as interim treasurer. Both appointments were intended to be until Town Meeting Day, but that became unclear when no candidates emerged for those offices.

The March election presented a further uncommon situation for town leadership when voters wrote in Petrovic’s name for both clerk and treasurer on their ballots—enough for her to win election to both positions. Petrovic, who did not seek election and who started a new job in state government in January, did not immediately accept the positions. State law gives an election winner 30 days to take the oath of office or decline a position. She shared with the select board her requests for employment conditions, including wages and some benefits, as she considered whether to return to the positions. Prior to her resignation at the end of 2025, Petrovic had worked for the town for 10 years, the past four years as clerk and treasurer.

As elected roles, the town clerk and treasurer are not members of the new municipal employees’ labor union, nor are they supervised by the municipal manager. The budget for their salaries and their employment conditions, however, are set by the Select Board. The Select Board’s response to Petrovic’s request was not made public. Petrovic attended the board’s April 7 and said she would not be taking the clerk position. The Select Board then issued a notice for applicants for the town clerk position to serve until the March 2027 election. (When an elected position becomes vacant between election cycles, the select board makes an appointment to fill it until the next election. Alternatively, citizens could petition to hold a special election to fill the job until the next election.)  

Meanwhile, Jones has stayed on as interim clerk. In December, she shared her intention to retire in early 2026, so she has not expressed interest in remaining in the role until next March. And at its May 5 meeting, the Select Board voted to extend Shepeluk’s appointment to the treasurer position to serve until Town Meeting Day in March 2027. At that time, the office will be on the ballot for a full three-year term.   

That leaves the town clerk role still to be filled with a permanent appointment through March 2027. As of May 5, Pollock was the only applicant for the appointment. Staskus at that meeting said the board received his letter of interest on Friday, May 1, but did not add time for an interview to their agenda.  

Ahead of the special meeting for Friday morning, Waterbury Roundabout inquired about the number of applicants the town has received for the town clerk position and requested Pollock’s letter of interest. Staskus did not provide any additional information to address those questions. 

Asked about proceeding with the matter in closed session for Friday, Staskus noted that the agenda cites state law allowing select boards to discuss hiring and appointing public officials in executive session. “We appreciate the importance of transparency,” Staskus replied in an email. “The statute allows for confidential consideration or evaluation of public officers as well as the privacy of applicants. It is not unreasonable to address matters relating to appointing, interviewing, or hiring a public officer in executive session. Any formal action to appoint a candidate will take place during an open meeting.”

Friday’s meeting will be held in the Steele Community Room at the municipal offices and is accessible via Zoom. The online link is in the meeting agenda.