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Select Board approves MOU updating town meeting warrant tracking and passes omnibus 5a–5q consent items
Summary
The Select Board voted unanimously on April 15 to approve an updated memorandum of understanding among the Select Board, Town Moderator and Town Clerk to improve e‑code updates and warrant article tracking; members also approved items 5a–5q in omnibus fashion.
The Brookline Select Board voted unanimously during its April 15 meeting to approve a revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) among the Select Board, the Town Moderator and the Town Clerk. The MOU updates an agreement first executed in October (date supplied in staff memo) to clarify responsibilities for updating the town’s e‑code of bylaws and improving public reporting on warrant articles passed by Town Meeting.
Town staff briefed the board that the updated MOU formalizes a process to ensure petitioners and the public receive timely updates of bylaw and e‑code changes and establishes routine tracking and a shared spreadsheet that staff will maintain on the town meeting website. The MOU does not change the Select Board’s statutory responsibilities but clarifies coordination among the three offices.
After a brief discussion in which members said the MOU is a preferable and more flexible path than an enforceable bylaw, Chair Bernard Green moved approval of items 5a through 5q (the omnibus consent calendar including the amended MOU). The board approved the omnibus motion by roll call: John Van Scioyet (Aye), Michael Sandlin (Aye), Paul Warren (Aye), David Perlman (Aye), and Chair Bernard Green (Aye). The Select Board then read and adopted a resolution honoring Aaron Feuerstein as part of the consent agenda.
Select Board members described the MOU as a way to reduce town meeting’s time burden and create a practical, iterative approach to maintaining the general bylaws’ e‑code and the public tracking spreadsheet. Staff said the town clerk’s office and the Select Board’s office will post updated status information and Attorney General approval notices on the town meeting website.
The board also confirmed an appointment to the Commission on Women (Francesca Dapps) during the meeting’s consent votes.
The MOU item and the consent agenda will be posted with the meeting minutes and the revised spreadsheet referenced by staff. The board’s unanimous vote moves the updated MOU into effect and signals administrative support for improved e‑code maintenance and greater transparency in the warrant‑to‑bylaw process.
