Selectmen tell charter panel town‑manager system works but needs clearer role, finance safeguards

Selectwoman Diane Geisley, a member of the Board of Selectmen, told the Charter Revision Commission on March 5 that “it is a form of government that works for our town,” but added the town’s charter needs clearer language to limit role confusion between elected officials and the town manager.

The issue matters because commissioners, selectmen and staff said unclear lines have created recurring frictions over contract negotiations, department oversight and budget transfers — and prompted calls to preserve an independent finance board as a fiscal safeguard.

At the meeting, Geisley described the intended split of responsibility under a town‑manager system: elected officials set policy while the town manager administers operations. She said the charter now leaves “a…