No subscription needed for Obituaries and Public Notices      

OP/ED: Should the Board of Selectmen Revert From 5-member to a 3-member Board?

[Editor: Among the most controversial proposals submitted to the Charter Review Committee are suggestions involving the composition of the Board of Selectmen. Some knowledgeable citizens argue convincingly for reducing the Board from five to three members. Others' suggestions marshall strong arguments for retaining a five-member board. This week we reprint a portion of Selectmen Peter Cunningham's justification for reducing the Board from five to three members. Next week we will run another suggestion arguing for retaining the five-member board.]

Selectman Peter Cunningham:

A number of factors are worth considering in contemplating this proposed change. Based on information available from the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) a survey of towns in Massachusetts with Selectmen reveals the majority have three member Boards.

Two neighboring towns of Groton have considered this issue with Ayer reducing its BoS from 5 to 3 members and Pepperell rejecting the idea of increasing its BoS from 3 to 5 members when it adopted its recent Charter.

One of the major underlying arguments for increasing the BoS size was the need for greater oversight of town operations, yet this rationale is no longer relevant with our current form of governance. In fact, one of the reasons the T.G.S.C. chose not to support increasing the Board size was a concern that Selectmen should not be directly involved with the day to day operations of town departments and should convey their input and direction through the Town Administrator who was the point person for the BoS.

And this was before Groton adopted its Charter which clearly places the responsibility of day to day administration with the Town Manager and policy oversight with the Selectmen.

Another factor in favor of a three member BoS is the pressure for more cordial interpersonal dynamics. This certainly does not mean that there could not be instances of 'bad behavior' amongst a three member Board, but the tendency for Board interpersonal dynamics to become factionalized is less.

The recent history of our current BoS is a good example of how the interpersonal dynamics of the Board members can reach a level of disharmony that is disruptive to its core responsibilities. This certainly was the experience in Ayer where the previous five member BoS was frequently at odds with one another and struggled to get through their meetings without some form of open conflict breaking out. Since returning to a three member Board, this has not been the case and the conduct of public business takes place with less disruption.

Finally, with the increased emphasis on transparency and avoiding OML violations, a three member BoS would assure townspeople that the public's business is conducted openly. I want to be clear that while it is technically not a violation of the OML for two members of the BoS to communicate with one another about town affairs, it does seem contrary to the spirit of the law when two members can discuss matters and affect their position at a scheduled meeting.

This does happen with our current five member BoS and would be a violation of the OML with a three member Board. Any communication between members of a three member BoS would need to occur at a legally posted meeting and thereby offering greater transparency to the public's business.

Groton Herald

Mailing Address
P.O. Box 610, Groton, Massachusetts 01450
 

Office
145 Main Street, Groton, Massachusetts 014510
[Prescott Community Center]
 

Telephone: 978-448-6061
 

Comment Here