HAVERHILL — The town clerk resigned early last week following a tenure characterized by internal disputes with the Selectboard, leaving town employees to divide and conquer annual election tasks with the help of two temporary employees.
Carole Brooks-Broer, who was elected in March 2024 for a three-year term, delivered her resignation letter early last week, ultimately citing the need to care for a sick family member.
In the letter, she also expressed dissatisfaction with the Selectboard for disagreements over hiring a deputy clerk, including who would be in charge of the hiring process.
“This unfortunate situation has been created by a serious lack of action by the Haverhill Selectboard,” Brooks-Broer wrote in the Feb. 9 letter addressed to the Selectboard and Town Administrator Tom Galinat.
Brooks-Broer said that the Selectboard failed to understand how much work is done by a town clerk. She added that if the Selectboard had accepted her request to hire a deputy clerk, her time off and ultimate resignation would not have left the town scrambling.
Brooks-Broer had been asking for a deputy clerk since June, she said Tuesday by phone, but was often dismissed due to what she felt was misinformation about what a town clerk really does. She stood firm that the hiring should have been up to her as the person who understands the responsibilities best.
“It’s not just registering vehicles and dogs or printing out birth certificates. There’s a whole lot more than that and there’s a lot of record keeping that needs to be done because we get audited every year,” Brooks-Broer said Tuesday by phone.
Brooks-Broer said that the workload was too heavy, especially for someone with a sick family member.
Selectboard member Ron Hurlburt said that the board did make an effort to help her.
“There were people supporting her going through what she had. But at some point, you also have a job to do,” Hurlburt said in a Tuesday interview.
Hurlburt said that the town had attempted to hire a deputy clerk, but Brooks-Broer did not make herself available to participate in interviews with the applicants and hiring committee.
Hurlburt also said that the limited clerk office hours became a source of resident complaints. The Selectboard was concerned that by hiring a deputy clerk, Brooks-Broer would take more time off and the town would be paying two salaries for one job.
The town clerk’s salary in Haverhill ranges from $40,000 to $55,000, based on experience and certification as a New Hampshire town clerk. Brooks-Broers made $51,000, said Selectboard member Vicky Wyman Tuesday by phone.
One solution the board considered was hiring a municipal agent — which would not require approval from Brooks-Broer — to take on all vehicle registrations.
Before that could happen, Brooks-Broer resigned effective immediately, at what Hurlburt referred to as “the worst time that could have happened,” referencing the upcoming election and noting that the resignation came after the due date to elect a replacement at the annual Town Meeting.
Following Brooks-Broer’s resignation, Galinat along with other town leaders made calls to people with relevant experience. However, many of them retired too long ago, moved out of state or were simply too busy.
Ivy Billard, however, checked all the boxes, said Galinat.
“You can never plan for a resignation and so when they happen you just have to adapt and move forward,” said Galinat.
Billard, the town’s interim clerk, served as deputy clerk for less than six months about nine months to a year ago before leaving due to internal issues, Hurlburt said, declining to specify the type of issues that lead to her departure.
Billard, who the board appointed Friday to the temporary position, agreed to take over town clerk duties until about March 16, after the election. The office’s main concerns are getting the ballot finished in the system, setting up election software and ensuring absentee ballots are available, Galinat said.
“We did not want to have to reschedule the town meeting,” said Galinat.
The town also hired a deputy town clerk last week to assist Billard in preparing for the election. Dawn Burleson, SAU school district clerk, has been working for Haverhill on a part-time, temporary basis outside of regular work hours, she said when reached Tuesday by phone.
Burleson has experience with elections after having worked on ballots for school elections, she said, and is therefore familiar with the program used. Working with Billard, their focus is on getting the ballot ready for March 10.
Galinat commended Billard and Burleson for raising their hands when no one else would. Billard has fully taken over daily efforts, and will be there for town meetings and election day to ensure the process is smooth, said Galinat. He hopes for the least amount of disruption possible.
A team of town staff has been working alongside Billard to ensure a smooth transition in the town clerk’s office. For example, Haverhill tax collector Melinda Boutin is taking DMV requests to help relieve the clerk, despite already being overloaded during the heat of tax season, Galinat said.
Only the town clerk and deputy can access election software, but others can collect requests, assist in filling them out and answer questions despite not being authorized to enter them into the system.
While people can make requests for town clerk for anything, responses may be delayed with the election taking priority, said Galinat. He added that the office is looking to resume DMV service this week.
“The irony of the situation is that with the resignation of the town clerk, we’re actually providing extended hours for absentee ballot registration requests,” said Galinat.
Since Brooks-Broer’s resignation came in after the petition period, a replacement clerk will be appointed to fill out the final year of her term. A job posting is forthcoming. A few people have expressed interest, though the hiring process is on hold until after the election.
“Once we get our feet under us and the services are resumed for registrations and elections, then the focus will be shifted toward probably an application period,” said Galinat.
Residents will elect the next Haverhill clerk at the 2027 town meeting.
“The vast majority of the community is excited to just move on,” said Galinat.