by Frank Schroth

Last night, the Government Study Committee, for the second time, took up the issue of submitting an article to Town Meeting to expand the Board of Selectmen from a 3-member board to 5. The issue, which had previously been voted down 5-4, passed by a vote of 7-2.

Members Phil Matthews and Leroy Walker had researched the issue extensively, conducting interviews with a wide range of town officials in other communities that had made the change. Advantages identified included better distribution of the work load, better accessibility of members to the public, the ability to have offline discussions, provided opportunity for the formation of subcommittees, and provided broader diversity of views. The most significant disadvantage was added workload for the Town Administrator as that person would now have 5 “customers” rather than 3.

Phil Matthews also provided a summary of an analysis he had done of the 296 towns in the Commonwealth that have a town meeting form of government. Of the 44 towns with a population greater than 20,000, 39 have a 5-member Boards of Selectmen (89%) and 5 have 3-member boards (11%). He argued that the trend in larger towns with larger budgets is toward 5-member boards and that in discussing this with the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) there is no evidence that a town that went to 5 members went back to 3. Matthews referred to the recommendation of the Department of Revenue that Milton expand its board and said the DOR makes the recommendations when it fits the town. The DOR submitted a report in 2013 to the town in which they stated:

The current three-member board is conducive to small town governance in which the selectmen play a stronger role in daily municipal affairs. In a town witha population over 27,000,a budget approaching $98 million,and a wide range of town administrative functions, the role of the selectmen shifts. An expanded number of selectmen creates greater oversight of the town administrator position and broadens resident representation on the board.

Committee members Marvin Gordon and Kathy Fagan, both of whom have served on the Board of Selectmen, also favored the article. Gordon said supporting expansion of the Board of Selectmen was the last thing he would have expected to find himself supporting, but he feels the strict requirements of the Open Meeting Law have had a detrimental effect on the boards collegiality. He said the law creates “a built in dysfunctionality” as no two members can communicate without violating the law. He said “the times have changed and it is time for Milton to change.”

Ms. Fagan said the challenges have become more complex and that a 5-member board would allow for subcommittees to be formed to focus attention on policy and strategy.

Committee Member Bob Hiss did not agree. He did not believe the size of the population is a compelling reason to expand the board, that voter participation is low, that access to selectmen is a non-issue, and that the nature of the work has not in fact changed.

Member Peter Mullin acknowledged being skeptical of the article but recognized its advanatages. His chief concern was on the timing. If an article were presented at annual town meeting in May recommending expansion of the board, he felt it could be defeated and that it would be quite some time before it returned. Member Mary McNamara who supports the article, said the committee should not be “afraid to fail.” It is “a consequential issue” and town meeting is “a consequentlal time” in which to discuss it.

The ensuing discussion resulted in the notion of approving the expansion of the board but not presenting an article on it until the October town meeting in order to allow time for a solid prestentation and for the issue to percolate among town meeting members.

Rick Neely, chair of the committee and also a former member of the Board of Selectmen, opposed the article. He was not swayed by the population argument and felt the issue would not address the resource constraints that exist at town hall where “staffing is fragmented and weak.”

Leroy Walker, who felt that the previous motion that ended in defeat was premature, brought closure to the evening’s discussion. He said they should vote the article and take it to town meeting in the fall. A motion was made to submit an article for the October Town Meeting that approves expanding the Board of Selectmen to 5 members. Matthews, Gordon, Fagan, Mullin, Cronin, and Walker voted in favor. Hiss and Neely voted against.

Editorial aside: The Town Government Committee’s discussion of this issue was rather appropos of the issue itself. It illustrated the value of multiple points of view that served to evolve the discussion and develop a better outcome. One wonders if this committee had been only three members, would the issue have been as well thought through, challenged and vetted.