Cost could keep Franklin aldermen from changing their name
“What’s an alderman?” is a common question town officials hear when trying to explain what they do to members of the public.
Franklin Alderman Brandon McMahan said the confused faces usually subside when he tells people that an alderman is the same thing as a town councilmember.
The town board has been debating the outdated term lately and held a public hearing Monday night to get input from constituents on whether the town aldermen should change their title to town council.
Mayor Bob Scott has been supportive of the change for two reasons — to clear up the confusion and to be more inclusive by using a gender-neutral term that refers to men and women serving on the board.
“This town is changing — we’re a high-tech center, we’re a regional medical center, a tourist destination, new restaurants are coming in, we’re a center for environmental groups and the arts. It’s time to move into that period and this is one of the ways we do it,” Scott told the board Monday night. “This allows us to be gender neutral and I for one can’t see where there’s any harm in doing that.”
Lili Vitale is a senior at Franklin High School and is also interning with the town of Franklin this semester. Since alderman literally translates into “old man,” she said she was in favor of getting rid of the archaic term.
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“I believe it’s of paramount importance to get younger generations involved in local government, but when we use archaic terms such as aldermen it is unappealing to young women who may have aspirations of some day being on the town board,” Vitale said.
Laurie Beegle, a patrol sergeant for the Franklin Police Department, also encouraged the town to make the change. When she first started with the force, she said her badge said “policewoman.”
“At the time I accepted it because I was a rookie,” she said.
But through the years, terms have changed. Her next badge read “policeman” and then at some point the town policy changed and all gender references were removed. Now she said everyone on the force is a “police officer,” which makes the most sense.
“It would be welcoming to everyone to change it to council,” Beegle said.
Nancy Scott, a former alderman and also Mayor Scott’s wife, said she would appreciate using the more inclusive term as “alderman” did present certain awkwardness.
Susannah Kuppers, who said she represented a local group of progressive women, said research showed that language is a powerful reflection of history and specific words can shape perceptions. She agreed that using councilmember would be a better representation.
Joyce Handley, a former alderman for the town, was the only one who spoke against the change.
“I served eight years as an alderman — I knew that was going to be my title and it never bothered me — I knew my sex,” she said. “To me it’s history — a lot of people have held that office and we held it to do our jobs. I think a lot of young women coming up today won’t care if they’re called alderman or council member.”
Handley also said taxpayers should know the financial burden of making such a change.
Scott said the cost would be minimal — legally the town can reprint one page to place at the beginning of its charter saying that the term alderman in the ordinance book is now council. That one page would cost $18.50.
Town Manager Summer Woodard said the town could do it that way or could go ahead and reprint the entire ordinance book and make the change on every page. For the 276-page book, the worst-case scenario cost could be about $5,000.
Alderman Billy Mashburn, who is against the change, said changing all the board’s name plates would also cost money — about $100 apiece.
Again, Woodard said the nameplates could just be replaced over time as people on the board roll off.
Town Attorney John Henning Jr. also mentioned that the town has to spend money periodically to reprint the ordinance book anyway when changes are made to town policies.
Alderman Barbara McRae thanked everyone for their comments. In her research, she said she found that at one point the town board was referred to as commissioners — showing that it hasn’t always been aldermen.
“It obviously means a lot to the young women, and what you call someone does matter,” she said.
Alderman Patti Abel said she tended to agree with Handley that women don’t really care about what the title is and are only concerned with doing the job.
“I knew what the job was — and I’m not into political correctness. I couldn’t care less what I’m called,” she said. “If it doesn’t cost us money I’m fine with it, but I don’t like to send the message the job you do is in the name that it holds.”
McMahan agreed that he doesn’t mind the change if it makes it easier for people to understand and is more inclusive, but he might change his mind if the town has to spend a lot of money.
The town had planned on voting on the matter until Henning informed them that town policy says the board can’t vote on a change to its charter until the next regular meeting following a public hearing. The board’s next meeting is May 2.
This story was reported thanks to video provided by www.maconmedia.com.
