20 STATION BULLETIN 346 



Typical roster of Method of Selection 



town officers 



3 trustees of public One-third elected each year for 3 years by major vote 

 library in town meeting. 80% of the towns have 3, most of 



Others have 6 or 9. Five towns have 2, 5, or 8, which is 

 not according to public law. The law requires that 

 the number be divisible by 3. 



1 police officer More frequently appointed by the board of selectmen. 



46% of the towns have 1, 31% have 2, and 23% have 

 more than 2. 



1 health officer Appointed for three years by state board of health on 



recommendation of selectmen. 



Only 46 of the 116 reports included an overseer of the poor among 

 the list of officers, and in only 26 cases was this office filled by someone 

 other than a selectman. In most towns this service was conducted 

 by one or more of the selectmen. There were only 18 budget com- 

 mittees listed having from three to ten members and one planning 

 board of six members. Other officers and the number of towns 

 having each follow : 



Town Officers Number of Towns 



Fire warden 45 



Surveyors of wood and lumber 19 



Dog constable .  " 16 



Forest fire warden 13 



Fence-viewers 12 



Water commissioners 8 



Town forest committee 5 



Trustees of specific funds 5 



Public weighers 4 



Tree warden 3 



The most frecjuent number of town offices is between 20 and 29. 

 Approximately two-thirds of the towns have fewer than 30 officers 

 and 86 percent have fewer than 40. Five towns have 50 or more of- 

 fices, but none have as many as 50 individuals holding office, and 

 84.5 percent of the towns have fewer than 30 persons holding office. 

 In the 116 town reports, there are 3,180 positions listed, but only 

 2,556 dififerent persons holding office, an average per town of 27.4 

 and 22.0, respectively. In other words, there are about four persons 

 for each five offices. With so many offices to be filled, it is no wonder 

 that the few leaders of sparsely inhabited towns hold numerous com- 

 munity positions. 



Public laws provide that certain offices shall not be held by one 

 person at the same time. "No person shall hold any two of the fol- 

 lowing named town offices at the same time, — selectman, treasurer, 

 collector of taxes, and auditor, and no person shall at the same time 

 hold the office of highway agent and selectman, "'^ and further- 

 more, no supervisor can also be a selectman, moderator, clerk, or bal- 

 lot inspector. A frequent combination of offices is that of clerk and 



'•Revised Laws, 1941, Chapter 59, Section 43. 



