HARRISON — Outgoing Selectman Richard Syke’s attempt to eliminate a per diem clerk at the Town Office failed handily at annual town meeting Wednesday night.

Before the majority of the business got underway, Doug Holt told the crowd he’s lived in town for more than 30 years and tradition has always been that election day is held before town meeting and the day of town meeting, the new selectmen sit up front at the meeting.

“I want to know why today our new selectman is not sitting up there?” he asked, referring to Archie Belanger.

“It was under discussion last year at town meeting why is it that new selectmen are placed up here, their term is July to June 30, to speak on a warrant that they had nothing to do with their term,” Town Clerk Melissa St. John said. “(The idea is) to have the selectmen that recommended the warrant to present it and defend it as necessary.”

Sykes made a motion to amend Article 13 to decrease it by $16,416.83, making the total for the administration budget $484,238.17.

“I don’t believe we need a per diem clerk,” Sykes said, adding he heard Town Manager George “Bud” Finch say there’s not enough work for that employee.

Fire Chief Dana Laplante said he would vote against the decrease because the majority of the work the per diem clerk does is for him.

“You in the town with the stipend you give me . . . you get one hour a day out of me,” he said. “I can tell you right now I could spend eight hours a day at the Fire Station doing all the paperwork I need to do.”

Selectman Richard St. John defended the need for the per diem clerk.

“We have a town clerk, we have a deputy clerk. It doesn’t take any arithmetic to figure it out if you have one person out, you only have one person to cover the counter,” he said.

Voters passed the original amount for administration.

Voters also approved $548,125 for Public Works; $99,440 for the Fire Department; $243,537 for Solid Waste; $188,003 for Parks and Recreation; $59,000 for insurance; $174,501 for public safety; $79,970 for community services; $400,000 for capital roads; $300,000 for capital reserve; and to spend $580,000 from the capital reserve fund. That includes money for road improvements, a payloader, a pickup truck, replacing the roof at the Fire Department, compactors at the Transfer Station, parking lot and sewer maintenance at the Town Office and other deferred maintenance projects.

Voters also approved transferring revenue from each snowmobile registration to a fund to support the Harrison Friendly Riders Snowmobile Club.

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