Petition to revote Article 8 - Elimination of Audit Office

A petition to have Article 8 revoted on is near completion. The reasons for this petition are as follows:

1. This Article was voted via a floor vote. Statute states an article to eliminate the local audit office must be done via paper ballot. Although the Selectboard has since ratified Article 8, there is a strong concern in town that a paper ballot is necessary for an article of such significance. By having a paper ballot, the Town can be assured that each vote was made by a registered Fairfax voter.

2. There is a concern that a total of 67 people voting on such an issue is not a true representation of the Town voter population. It is interesting to note that 36 votes were made to eliminate the local audit office at Town Meeting but the following Tuesday at the polls over 600 people voted to elect Karen Langelier as an auditor. This is a clear indication the Town voters were not fully aware of the issues being decided on.

3. There is a concern that this Article deserves more attention than it received at Town Meeting. Due to the snow storm and the fact that this article did not get voted on until very late in the day is reason to believe many could either not make it to Town Meeting or had to leave early for other reasons. A number of residents feel this topic was not fully discussed nor presented very clearly to the voters.

4. Lastly as residents are becoming aware of what occured there is a growing concerning over the lack of a system of checks and balances without a local audit office. This includes a concern over who will prepare the Town Report.

If anyone is interested in signing this petition please email us.

Sincerely,