LIVERMORE — Residents voted Wednesday night to keep the administrative assistant position appointed.

A citizens’ initiative asked voters if they wanted to change the position to be elected beginning in June 2014.

Town meeting moderator Darryl Brown denied attempts to make a motion to strike the question or pass by it. He would only accept positive motions.

Resident Dennis Lee said he submitted the petition to put the question before voters to change the way the position is handled.

“It would give us a voice that we haven’t had,” he said.

It would give residents a little more authority on who administers the town, he said.

Residents brought up that it would mean that someone could be elected who did not have any qualifications to serve in the position.

Generally people don’t get elected to do a job if they are not qualified, Lee’s wife, Cathy, said.

A resident asked to hear selectpersons Chairman John Wakefield’s opinion on the matter.

“From my perspective, I see some disadvantages,” he said.

The position was approved at a town meeting about 12 years ago, he said. It was created to help the board, whose members usually have jobs, deal with a mire of state and federal laws and regulations, he said.

The concerns he has, Wakefield said, are that someone could be elected who did not have the qualifications to do the job. There would be no minimum performance requirements and no educational requirements, he said.

The Board of Selectpersons would have little or no authority over the person in the position and would not be able to dismiss the person if he or she was not doing a good job, he said.

The most critical and important part is a face-to-face interview when hiring someone to fill a position, Wakefield said.

The town went through this with elected road foremen. Voters changed the position to appointed, he said. Though the first selection did not work out, he said, the town currently has a highly productive road foreman and road crew.

The foreman meets with selectpersons at each board meeting to give an update.

Residents also voted to eliminate 42 of 54 streetlights, which is expected to save $5,000 in the first year.

Voters also approved a $1.23 million municipal budget for 2013-14.

After factoring in carry-forwards, departmental revenues and the Memorial Forest settlement, the net budget is about $1.03 million. The settlement of $38,115 will be divided in half, with one half reducing the tax commitment for 2013-14 and the second half reducing it in 2014-15.

Residents voted to go with the selectpersons’ recommendations and left in money to allow for 2 percent raises for all employees, except for highway crew, who will receive 1 percent raises. The latter received a 3 percent raise in the current budget, while other employees received no raise.

Selectperson Megan Dion said that doesn’t mean all employees would get that amount of raise. It would be up to selectpersons to decide that, she said.

The Budget Committee had recommended lower raises.

Voters also amended the Site Plan Review Ordinance to add adult entertainment regulations for businesses that don’t sell liquor. There is already an ordinance in place that covers adult entertainment for businesses that do sell liquor. Residents also enacted a revised Floodplain Management Ordinance and repealed the one adopted in 1999.

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