At Alna’s annual town meeting in March, Ralph Hilton wants fellow residents to consider an ordinance for recalling elected town officials. He said the petition he has turned in stems from selectmen’s handling of town business Dec. 1. At that meeting, residents took issue with selectmen’s handling of road, ballot and other issues, and selectmen explained the actions. 

The March vote would recall no one; it would give voters a way to recall elected officials. The petition includes the proposed ordinance. A recall’s first step would be filing a notice of intent; then the town clerk prepares petition forms and tells the notice filer they are available; the filer has 21 days turn in the signed petition and, if the clerk finds it meets requirements, it gets certified. The proposal states if selectmen do not set an election, the clerk will. 

And unless the would-be recalled official has resigned within 10 days after selectmen get the petition, ballots will be printed with yes and no boxes on recalling the official.

The proposal states if selectmen do not set an election, the clerk will. Removing the named official from office would take a majority vote.

First Selectman Ed Pentaleri, elected Dec. 14, said Sunday, the clerks have told him the petition’s signatures have been verified. Pentaleri said he was not sure when the board will take up the petition. “We’ll address it when we finalize the rest of the warrant for our March town meeting.”

On the petition and in text replies, Hilton said the annual meeting is where he wants the proposal decided. “(That) is the proper venue for serious town matters,” the petition states.

Voters Dec. 14 rejected questions that sprang from Katy Papagiannis and Tom Aldrich’s petition to alter selectmen’s terms, duties and pay, and Doug Baston’s petition for town meeting voters to consider a committee to review town government.