Statement to the GAC by Kathy Kastrinelis
Currently, the Massachusetts General Laws authorize town to elect boards of three or five selectmen, at an at-large basis, for terms of one or three years. Towns in Massachusetts have either “weak” or strong Boards of Selectmen. A “weak” system is characterized by a long local ballot for the election of many town officers and boards which are responsible directly to the local voters, and are independent of BOS supervision. In “strong” systems, the selectmen, school committee, and a few other executive officers and boards are elected by the voters, while most major administrative officials are appointed by the board of selectmen, or by the town’s professional administrator.
My reasons for believing as I do that the town would be better served by increasing the Board of Selectmen from three to five members is based on my belief that the Town Meeting form of self-governance should be maintained. However, growth in the town has placed greater strain on town services along with more complex laws. The process of overseeing the management of the town as a member of the Board of Selectmen has become generally more complicated and more time demanding. In addition, “the rule of two” which exists for a three member board, meaning that two members create enough votes to direct the town, can create very difficult and demanding situation if one member has a conflict on an issue. I favor a five member board for the following reasons:
- Our town has grown in size and a five member Board would foster broader demographic representation.
A five member Board would allow greater participation in the governance process by the addition of two more elected positions.
A survey of thirty similar towns by a member of the GAC shows that roughly half of these communities have moved to a five member board.
It may resolve the issue of term limits, in my opinion, because I believe there would be more change over in the BOS if it were five members.
A larger Board could tackle more projects and spread out the workload to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the BOS.
The issue of BOS members having a conflict and not being able to participate in decision-making and votes would be minimized.
Expanding the Board could increase confidence in the BOS as an appointing authority so that town residents would vote to change key elected positions to appointed. I believe that increasing the BOS to five members would provide the necessary checks and balances in the appointment process.
Assure legal compliance with the Open Meeting Law. At present, any two selectmen constitute a quorum and must conduct all Town business within the context of a publicly posted meeting. In addition, with only three Board members, should a Board member become incapacitated or unable to continue on the Board for some reason, then the orderly functioning of the Town government would easily be impacted and any semblance of checks and balances could quickly disappear.
Increasing the Board would strengthen our form of government so that we can maintain our Town Meeting form of self-governance.
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