At the Aug. 27 Select Board retreat members reviewed a draft town organizational chart and identified multiple inconsistencies between the chart and actual legal reporting lines and departmental responsibilities.

Key items raised:
- Fire governance: Members noted that the fire chief operates in a “strong chief” role under state law for fire operations; the chart’s placement of the fire chief under the Select Board’s direct daily supervision was misleading, the board said. The group discussed the effect of the strong chief on hiring and budget oversight for the fire department.
- Elected/appointed bodies: The chart did not clearly reflect the legal parity and autonomy of several elected boards and commissions (board of health, board of assessors, cemetery commissioners, water and light commissioners) and the practical relationships with the public services director. Members said those boards should appear as parallel entities rather than subordinate to the Select Board in the organizational graphic.
- Grant writer placement: The budget book and the organizational chart showed the town’s grant writer in different places (accountant vs. select board office) and members asked staff to reconcile the records; the board discussed whether the grant writer should report to the town administrator going forward.
- Committees that have not met: Members pointed out committees that had been created by bylaw but never filled or that had not met; the board asked staff to prepare a committee handbook to clarify appointment, oath, training, open‑meeting and records requirements for volunteers.
- Notification policy: The board asked for a draft notification policy to ensure that department closures, emergency notices, staff absences and other time‑sensitive information are communicated consistently to elected officials, department heads and residents (for example via code‑red, website post, or department head notification chains).

Next steps: The Select Board asked staff to prepare (1) a revised organizational chart that reflects legal reporting lines as of the most recent town meeting, (2) a committee handbook to be provided to appointed and elected committees on swearing‑in, open‑meeting law, records and typical responsibilities, and (3) a formal notification policy describing who must be notified and how in emergencies and for routine office closures. Board members also asked staff to identify the bylaw or vote dates that created particular reporting relationships so the chart and the budget book can be reconciled.