Blackstone Board of Assessors approves minutes, vouchers and motor-vehicle commitments, then enters executive session

The Town of Blackstone Board of Assessors on Feb. 20 approved routine administrative items — the Nov. 18, 2024 minutes and a voucher for staff minutes — and signed motor-vehicle tax commitments before voting to enter an executive session and ending the public portion of the meeting.

Board members approved the minutes of Nov. 18, 2024 by voice vote. The board also approved a voucher described in the meeting as for “Nicole’s minutes,” and then voted to approve and sign a set of motor-vehicle tax commitments. A board member noted that staff printed a large batch of commitment pages (about 800 pages) and that some commitments are processed in batches and a small number can be missed in the first pass; the missed item was to be completed later.

The board then moved to an executive session. A roll-call vote was recorded with Jim Warren voting "aye," Chairman McKeit recorded as voting "aye," and Bob Bush voting "yes." Meeting participants announced they would not return to the public meeting after the executive session, and the audio ended.

The actions taken were procedural: approving prior minutes, authorizing a voucher, and signing motor-vehicle tax commitments. The meeting record indicates routine administrative processing of motor-vehicle commitments (staff printing and batch processing) and at least one item that required follow-up because it was missed in the initial processing. The transcript did not specify dollar amounts for the voucher or the motor-vehicle commitments, nor did it identify who made or seconded the motions by name in all instances.

No substantive new policy, ordinance or contested decision was recorded in the public portion of the meeting. The board’s move to an executive session terminated the public record of any further discussion that evening.