Eldred Township will need to elect three auditors in the upcoming election, but as of now doesn’t have any candidates, Chairwoman Mary Anne Clausen said at the supervisors meeting Wednesday night.

The role requires very little but is also important, Clausen said.

The auditors’ elections are supposed to be staggered, but this year because of resignations, all three will be elected at once for terms of two, four and six years. Auditors are not allowed to hold any other office in the township.

Their role is to audit the township’s books if they want and to determine the compensation of any supervisors who also become employees of the township, Clausen explained.

The township currently uses an accounting firm, so auditors will not be required to audit unless they want to, Clausen said after the meeting. Supervisors are also currently not township employees, but they have been in the past.

If a supervisor were to take on a job with the township, the auditors would be convened to determine the salary.

“It’s to avoid the situation where JoAnn is my buddy and Gary’s buddy so we hire her at some outrageous salary,” Clausen said after the meeting.

“What this job entails at the moment is to meet on a specified day in January, elect a chairman, elect a secretary, approve the minutes from last year, and that’s it,” Clausen told residents. “So I don’t know why it’s so difficult to get people to do this.”

A resident can be elected with only one vote if that is the highest vote, so anyone interested would only need to vote for himself or herself in the election, Clausen said. The candidate can let the supervisors know to get their votes as well.

In other business

After holding a public hearing, the supervisors granted a conditional use approval subject to some conditions to Donald Ballou so that he can build his home on a steep slope.

The 77-acre property is on Lower Smith Gap Road, east of Schaffer Road.

According to the township’s zoning ordinance, property with 25 percent or steeper grades can’t be developed without the board of supervisors’ approval. This is because of stormwater runoff, erosion and aesthetic concerns, solicitor Michael Gaul said after the meeting.

During the meeting, consultant Jeremiah Hoagland of The Crossroads Group presented the plans and said that Ballou would comply with all the township’s conditions.

Other residents didn’t voice any concerns about the construction.

“We look forward to welcoming you to the neighborhood when you have jumped through all these hurdles,” Clausen told Ballou after the hearing.