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Mayranen fills in for Morse

A familiar face is coming back to the Morse Town Hall.Former town clerk Charlotte Mayranen is returning to her old job, at least temporarily.Mayranen, who served six years as town clerk during the 1990s and also had stints as deputy clerk, has agreed to replace Keiko Aylsworth, whose resignation takes effect this week.“It’s only interim,” said Mayranen. “I’ll do it until they can find someone else.”With Aylsworth’s final day of work set for Tuesday and a primary election less than a month away, supervisors needed to act quickly to fill the part-time position.They turned to Mayranen, who will be paid $11 an hour, the same wage that Aylsworth received.Aylsworth submitted her resignation at the Aug. 10 board meeting, and it was accepted by the board last Monday.The township will advertise for a permanent replacement, but in the meantime, supervisors said they needed someone who can both handle day-to-day operations and coordinate the upcoming elections.“I don’t think we can get somebody off the street who is election trained,” said supervisor Len Cersine.Board chairman Terry Soderberg said he hoped that Mayranen would return to the job on a permanent basis, but she agreed only to serve through the end of the year.Transition issues sparked some debate last week.Mayranen and the board asked that an audit of the township’s finances be completed before the change in clerks, but Aylsworth said she didn’t have enough time to complete the task.“I haven’t had time to get them done,” said Aylsworth. “I’ve told you over and over that this needs to be done, and I said I didn’t have enough hours to get it done.”Earlier this year, supervisors balked at Aylsworth’s request that she be granted an increase in hours. Aylsworth was paid for 10 hours per week, plus time at a monthly meeting. She has recommended that the board increase the position to 15 hours per week.Supervisor Jack Willis said that completing the audit was vital to the transition.“I don’t know how we can accept the resignation without this being done,” said supervisor Jack Willis.“You should have thought of that before,” Aylsworth responded.Willis then suggested that Soderberg oversee the transition, but the chairman shot down that idea.“I’m not going to bear the brunt of the responsibility here,” said Soderberg. “I think the three of us need to discuss with Keiko here tonight how we’ll get our books up to date.”Aylsworth offered to meet with Mayranen to go through the books, and supervisors said the project should take priority.Aylsworth’s resignation also has an impact on deputy clerk Judy Fredrickson.According to state law, when a town clerk resigns, the deputy clerk position also becomes vacant.“The clerk has a choice to select or discharge who they choose,” said Willis.In other business, supervisors:• Canceled a special board meeting set for Aug. 26;• Moved next month’s regular meeting to Thursday, Sept. 15, to avoid conflict with the primary election.• Authorized Mayranen to spend township funds as she sees fit for additional help.

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