For months, First Selectman Bill Morrison has been tossing around two ideas for change. The first would reduce the number of polling places for major elections from three to one. The other is to change the Town Clerk and Tax Collector to direct hire positions rather than elected. On Thursday, February 27, 2025, a small group of citizens gathered at the Stafford Community Center to hear the proposals and give Morrison an idea of whether the ideas were worth investigating further. While widespread support for changing the two elected positions seemed to be widespread, support for consolidating voting locations was less robust.
Polling Place Consolidation
In Connecticut, we now have 14 days of early voting before major elections. For smaller elections, seven or four days of early voting are mandated, depending on the type of election. Additionally, access to absentee ballots has been expanded to everyone, even when they have "no excuse." In other words, you can now vote in more ways on more days than ever before. But that comes at a cost.
Morrison told the audience that early voting had, to date, cost the town $25,533.46. He estimated the total costs for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, if there is only one budget budget referendum, would be about $40,000.
Stressing that this is not about voter suppression but a cost-saving measure. he said teams of people are required at each polling place; in some cases, those people may be harder to find and hire. He did, however, note that while it might be easy to assume consolidating the polling places would be a two-thirds savings, it would likely be more like 50% as the one polling place would still need more staff as it handled larger crowds. Additionally, early voting would likely be moved from the Town Hall to the Community Center, which is fully ADA compliant, has more parking, and does not require town boards and commissions to move their meetings to accommodate the early voting setup.
Eleanor Canestrari, Stafford's Republican Registrar of Voters, was on hand and said she had talked to State Senator Jeff Gordon about different changes at the state level that could help in other ways. Specifically, it changes the requirements that people vote in the same place for primary elections as in general elections. This would allow the town to have fewer polling places for the smaller number of voters who turn out for primaries.
Commenters in the audience seemed split or undecided on this issue. Some called for more data about how many voters turnout at each type of election. Others thought the inconvenience and potential impact on voting were not worth the savings. One poll worker noted that she often sees people come to the wrong polling place and thought this could solve that problem. When Morrison asked for a show of hands to see if the people present thought it was worth at least investigating further, he said he counted roughly 25 who were in favor and eight or so who didn't think it was worth looking into. So, the town will likely investigate the matter further.
Appointed Town Clerk and Tax Collector
Did you know that, as elected positions, the Town Clerk and Tax Collector technically do not have a boss other than "the people of Stafford." They control their hours, their vacation time, and their schedule. You could be elected into this position and show up once or twice a week for your entire two-year term, and the town would still have to pay you the salary and benefits associated with the position. Additionally, the people in those positions must be bondable, which may not be the nominating party's first concern when finding a candidate.
When it came time to register an unofficial show of hands-on experience in this matter, the room was overwhelmingly in favor of pursuing the change to "appointing" (the official word for a direct-hire position). Both positions require certifications that sometimes take longer to achieve than the current terms, and the town pays for the classes and continuing education needed. That means, in theory, someone could be elected without any experience, begin the certification process on the town's dime, and then be voted out before they ever achieve the needed certifications.
As the final vote showed, people strongly favored this change. Laura Lybarger told the audience, "I could run for tax collector and maybe win. You do not want me to be the tax collector." Considering the frequent turnover in the selectman's office, she said consistency in these two positions was necessary. Brian Goepfrich echoed her sentiments, calling it a "no-brainer," and asked about the transition process.
Karen Troiano, Stafford's long-time Town Clerk, who has run for office and won an estimated seven times, said that the current terms for both positions would have to expire before someone could be hired. Stafford's Human Resource Specialist, Diana Rose, explained the hiring process, which would go pretty much as you would expect. The job opening is posted, applicants apply, and there is an interview process. Eventually, Rose makes a recommendation, and the Board of Selectmen "appoints" that person.
One of the main benefits of making this change is that it opens up the pool of potential candidates to people who do not live in Stafford. You must live in town to run for the position, limiting the options. Still, commenter Henry Brooks seemed concerned about what this would mean for the people already in these positions. Rose said Troiano and Stephanie Irving, Stafford's current Tax Collector, would be considered "superstar candidates." However, given multiple comments from Morrison about the importance of succession planning, it's probably safe to say the town is preparing for retirements in one or more of these positions.
There are several more steps to take before any of these changes can be implemented, so stay tuned.