Corinth Town Meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 7, in the Town Hall in Cookeville. Ballot voting will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Corinth — Voters at Town Meeting next week may take the first step toward making the elected treasurer’s position an appointed one instead, a development Corinth officials say may be necessary because of the growing complexity of the job.

An article on the Town Meeting warning asks voters if they “will recommend that the Selectboard begin the process of amending the town’s charter for the purpose of converting the position of town treasurer from an elected position to that of an employee hired by the Selectboard.”

Treasurer Susan Fortunati, who has held the position for 17 years, said she recommended the measure because the job now entails filing a number of forms online and keeping track of everything from unemployment and workers’ comp premiums to retirement contributions for municipal employees.

“I have have mixed emotions in some regards,” said the 62-year-old Fortunati, whose current three-year term runs until next year and who hasn’t said whether she would run again. “It does take the power away from the people (who now elect the treasurer). On the other hand, the treasurer’s position has changed immensely in the 17 years that I’ve been here, and so you really need to have, in my opinion, somebody that is qualified to do the job. It’s not just balancing a checkbook. There’ a lot more involved with it.”

Selectboard Chairman Chris Groschner said the change would also mean that a future treasurer would not necessarily have to be drawn from residents of Corinth, which has a population of less than 1,400. “It would not mean that we could not hire someone from town, but it would mean that we would be looking at their qualifications before they took over the office,” he said.

Both also alluded to the situation in the Northeast Kingdom town of Coventry, population 1,086, where the Selectboard is trying to account for tens of thousands of dollars in town funds identified as missing, according to VtDigger. Five audits have been attempted, but in each case, longtime Town Clerk and Treasurer Cynthia Diaz has failed to provide needed documents, VtDigger reported earlier this month.

In Corinth, Fortunati, who also served briefly as town clerk and has been in Town Hall for 20 years, works about 27 hours a week and is paid $28,400 in salary as treasurer. She also earns fees from tax penalties she collects as the tax collector and collector of delinquent taxes in town.

As for the budget, proposed spending for fiscal year 2018, including the general and highway funds, totals $1.27 million, about $40,000 less than in the current budget.

The amount to be raised in taxes for the general fund is staying level, but for the highway fund is increasing by $15,000 and by another $19,000 for the highway capital equipment fund. That fund, which would total around $120,000, includes a projected $5,500 deficit from the current budget, according to the town warning.

In other action, voters are being asked to exempt a new nonprofit, the Sugar Maple Preschool, from property taxes, a routine measure for new nonprofits in town. Groschner said it is the only preschool in the rural community.

Residents will also vote by ballot on the proposed $755,527 Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District budget.

There are no contested elections slated for Town Meeting. Selectman Steve Long is unopposed for another term.

News staff writer John Gregg can be reached at jgregg@vnews.com.