BEDFORD — Following a unanimous vote by the Town Council, three amendments to the Town Charter will be put to the electorate on the September ballot.

Vice Chairman Chris Bandazian explained the amendments at last week's meeting. The first would expand the time allowed to replace a town councilor; the second would expand the time allowed for a town manager to move to Bedford; and the third would bring the council's bonding authority into compliance with state law.

Bandazian said the motivation for the second amendment is the need to hire a new town manager in light of barriers faced during the nearly seven-month search period.

“Hopefully we will be successful in this latest round of recruitment, but if for some reason we aren't, if we do not have these amendments on the September ballot, we'll have to wait until March,” Bandazian said.

The next amendment deals with town manager residency. Whereas the current provision requires a town manager to relocate to Bedford within six months, the amendment would extend that period to 18 months.

According to MRI, the firm hired to conduct Bedford's town manager search after a failed effort on the part of the council, certain “high-powered” candidates have rejected the position due to residency requirement.

But doing away with the requirement was off the table, Bandazian said. “We all felt that the loyalty and investment that one has in the town, by virtue of residency, was very important and something that should be preserved.”

Candidates have expressed concern with the necessity to move to Bedford in six months, he added, given the amount of time it takes to sell a house.

A second household income is another important factor, with candidates unsure of whether their spouses would find equal-paying work in the area.

“The inability to find new work because of the way the labor market is at the current time also made it difficult for people to relocate, where that second income would have to be sacrificed,” Bandazian said.

The amendment also specifies that during those 18 months, a town manager must reside within a reasonable response time.

The Town Charter authorizes the council to reimburse a town manager's reasonable costs in connection with establishing residence.

“If we make it cost prohibitive for people to move here because of carrying two mortgages, or a rental expense, or losing a spouse's income, it just means that we're going to have to pay that individual more to get them here, or accept a lesser individual.”

Bandazian said neither of these outcomes are welcome by the council, and that the extension of the residency requirement will hopefully prevent either outcome.

Late town manager Russ Marcoux was reimbursed some $3,500 for his move from Derry, Bandazian said.

The first charter amendment changes the time period that the council has to choose a replacement councilor. Whereas the current provision requires that replacements be made at the next regular meeting of the council, the amendment would extend that period to 30 days.

Bandazian said that in spite of exercising due diligence, the current allotment for replacing a councilor has been overrun.

“The purpose (of the amendment) is to allow the Town Council additional time to advertise and to interview and select the best appointee for the town.”

The third amendment deals with how much money the council is able to bond. Currently the charter authorizes the council to bond up to $250,000. But under a state law, towns with the town meeting form of government are allowed to bond just $100,000.

The amendment would bring the town into compliance with the Municipal Finance Act.

During the public hearing section, former school board member Elaine Tefft rose in opposition to the residency extension for town managers.

“You can be a resident by renting property, you don't need to buy property,” Tefft said. “If your intention is to become a resident of Bedford, even if you've only been there two days, you are in fact legally a resident.”

“It's important that we have accessibility, that the town manager has accessibility. Especially if he's not from Bedford, he needs to get to know the town.”

Tefft said she doesn't want to give a town manager an 18 month free trial period. “Frankly, I would be nervous about giving him 18 months to look over the town.”

Roy Stewart of the Bedford Taxpayers Association said the extension was unnecessary. “Selling of a private home can be done in a matter of days.”

Stewart said he understood that the last prospective town manager backed out not only because of the housing concern, but also because he would be living three hours away from elderly parents in Maine.

“They should have thought of this before applying.”

“Finally I suggest that these two concerns, housing and family, be discussed with applicants (during) the application process, so that they can withdraw well before reaching a final decision point,” Stewart said.

Stewart concluded that the BTA supports the final amendment to the Town Charter, which deals with bonding.

The three amendments will be on the ballot on Sept. 11. Applications for absentee ballots are available at bit.ly/NWIDav.

srios@newstote.com