Town of Preston to convert treasurer from elected to appointed position.

Change will become effective after the Nov. 2 election

Preston — There will be one fewer box for residents to check on the Nov. 2 election ballot, with the vote Thursday by the Board of Selectmen on a new ordinance to convert the town treasurer from an elected to an appointed position.

The board voted unanimously to approve the change during a special meeting Thursday, a rushed vote because the town must provide its list of elected positions to the Secretary of the State’s Office by May 6, First Selectwoman Sandra Allyn-Gauthier said.

The move was prompted when 20-year town Treasurer Susan Nylen announced she does not plan to seek reelection this fall. Nylen said she has been advocating for the town to switch to an appointed treasurer position for several years.

“The change is a little late for me,” Nylen said. “But that’s OK. It’s time.”

Nylen, 65, said when she was first elected, the job took about eight to 10 hours per week. Now, it’s more than 28 hours, and it has become much more complex with electronic banking, security issues and ever-changing technology.

Following the unanimous vote to approve the new ordinance Thursday, Allyn-Gauthier said no decisions have been made yet to set the number of hours for the appointed position or the salary.

The ordinance calls for the first selectman to appoint a treasurer in consultation with the Board of Selectmen, within 30 days after the Nov. 2 election. Nylen plans to finish her current term in November. The appointment is not to exceed three years. An amendment added Thursday by Town Attorney Duncan Forsyth allows for future appointments, “as may be necessary thereafter.”

Forsyth said his firm, Halloran & Sage, represents more than two dozen municipalities, and Preston is the third in the past two months to at least consider switching from an elected to an appointed treasurer.

Allyn-Gauthier said Preston has been lucky to have Nylen for the past 20 years, as the position has changed so much, with electronic banking and new technology and increased investment training requirements.

“It’s all about safeguarding the taxpayers’ money,” she said. “Municipal financing is different from corporate finance.”

Preston faced a crisis in January, when the town’s contracted audit firm, Sandra E. Welwood LLC, abruptly canceled its contract, citing the town’s inability to provide required financial documents electronically for the pandemic-driven remote audit work. Town officials disputed the firm’s claims that Preston was uncooperative in the audit process and the Board of Finance selected the Winsted firm of King, King & Associates PC to finish the town audit.

Dozens of cities and towns throughout the state were late with state-mandated audits of the 2019-20 fiscal year, because of pandemic remote work and limited in-person office hours.

Nylen said she decided to retire this past fall prior to the audit controversy. Selectmen did not cite the audit controversy during the discussion Thursday, but Allyn-Gauthier said it’s important for the town’s strong bond rating to have audits done on time and accurately.

“The town budget is $16 million,” Selectman Jerry Grabarek said, “and we need a professional in that office we can depend on all the time, and an appointment would do that for us.”