Town clerk to resign at end of month

Belgium Town Clerk Anne Nord announced on Monday that she is resigning at the end of this month.

Nord also responded to accusations made by Doug Starck at November’s Town Board meeting that the annual report was “riddled with errors.”

“I reviewed it. There’s actually no errors in the 2024 report,” she said.

The 2023 report had two errors that carried over and populated multiple lines in the 2024 report, making it look like there were multiple errors, she said.

Town residents, she said, are supposed to review the annual report and bring corrections. “That’s why we have the annual meeting,” she said. “That’s the benefit of having lots of sets of eyes on it. That’s the purpose of it. It’s your report.”

Nord said one payment in 2023 was missed in the report, so the 2024 report had more money than the 2023 report.

“It’s not that there was missing money anywhere, it’s actually a payment I forgot to apply. There’s more money than what appears to be,” she said.

The clerk had been an elected position, but residents in 2024 voted to appoint the clerk and town treasurer. Town Chairman Tom Winker had suggested the move, which expands the labor pool beyond town residents.

“The appointment, I think, was crucial because when I came into this job I saw how much needed to be done, and it’s truly not a job that someone can just be elected to do. Someone should have some qualifications and be appointed to this position,” Nord said.

Nord said she would answer questions for the next clerk who gets hired.

“I want to thank her. She was a complete professional with me. I was honored to have her call me the chairman, just absolutely honored,” Winker said.

Zoning Administrator Charlie Parks, Nord’s father, said he has been serving the town for more than 30 years and “I have noticed a change in the tenor of the audience that comes these days.

“When you come to these meetings, take a breath and be aware that it’s not like some of the municipal areas you may have come from when you have premium services, you have full-time people doing these jobs.”

Former Town Clerk Cathy Urness said, “It takes years to learn how to do the job. She does the job beautifully. I just think we’re so lucky to have her. And to have one or two people cause the trouble that has been caused in this township is just not fair. I don’t blame her for not wanting to do it, but I beg her to stay.”