To appoint or to elect. That was the question posted on several ballots this past election.
On Tuesday, Nov. 9, people living outside city limits had to answer that question with a public measure asking whether the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors should fill offices of township trustees and clerks by appointment or should leave it as an elected position. A simple majority of 50 percent plus one passed the resolution, and half the townships approved the public measure.
Recently, Iowa law changed the election process of township trustees and clerks, requiring them to have a petition signed by 10 registered voters in their township before being placed on the ballot. To avoid this hassle, the public measure allowed voters to decide whether or not the positions should be filled by appointment by the supervisors.
"Most of the time, the township trustees remain the same," said Kossuth County Auditor Joann Bormann. "I believe the supervisors will trust the trustees' and clerks' recommendations when filling open positions."
Changing the positions to appointment would also bring down election costs.
"There were 47 or 48 ballot styles," Bormann stated. "Every township ballot had to be different."
Townships that voted down the appointment will still have their own ballot with the trustee on it. If the appointment passed, the election process may be restored in the future by a resolution of the board of supervisors being submitted to the registered voters in a general election.
Townships that passed the public measure to have the offices township trustees and clerks filled by appointment were Hebron, Lincoln, Eagle, Grant, Harrison, Buffalo, Ramsey, Greenwood, Fenton, Portland, Plum Creek, Lotts Creek, Cresco and Riverdale. Townships that didn't pass the resolution were Ledyard, Springfield, Swea, German, Wesley, Seneca, Burt, Irvington, Prairie, Union, Whittemore, Garfield, LuVerne and Sherman.