HARTFORD – Draft minutes from an emergency meeting held by the Board of Selectmen seem to contradict what Chairman Scott Swain said took place.

On Friday, Swain said the contradiction was unintentional, and noted that the minutes have yet to be reviewed and approved by the Board of Selectmen.

The mistakes, he said, “probably would have been caught once they were looked at.”

In a phone interview Thursday, Swain had said the Nov. 12 meeting was called to appoint Deputy Town Clerk Zoe Cowett temporarily to the position of town clerk. He said the action was taken “so that we didn’t have to close the Town Office.” Proper public notice wasn’t given for that meeting.

After Town Clerk Monica Mailly resigned Nov. 9, Swain said Cowett would fill her shoes until the town advertised the position and went through the hiring process.

But, according to the draft meeting minutes, Swain and Selectman Laura Marston voted 2-0 “to appoint Zoe Cowett to the Town Clerk position with the understanding that the position may be temporary, depending on the outcome of the vote at the Special Town Meeting.”

At a special 9 a.m. town meeting today in Town Hall, voters will decide whether the town clerks should be elected or appointed, as they are now.

So the meeting minutes imply that Cowett was given the town clerk’s job unless the appointment process is dropped.

Swain said Friday, however, that was not the intention. “Maybe it’s not stated as clear as it could be, but it was meant to be that she would be appointed temporarily,” he said.

Swain said the minutes also contained an error about the discussion of warrant articles for today’s meeting. The warrant was signed Nov. 12, not accepted then, Swain said.