Select Board reviews proposed bylaw changes to annual town report and audit timing

Select Board member Matt presented a first reading of draft changes to two town bylaws that govern the annual town report and the annual audit, citing a goal to make the report available earlier for voters to review before the annual town meeting and election.

Matt said the proposed changes would revise deadlines so departments file their annual submissions earlier, and would move the duty to publish the annual town report to a specific date (the draft says the last business day of February) while allowing the audit to be posted separately if it arrives after print deadlines. He said the change reflects the Municipal Modernization Act and practical timing conflicts between fiscal‑year and calendar‑year reporting for some enterprise funds (water/light) that sometimes delay receiving complete audit materials.

Board members discussed how to ensure physical copies remain available to residents at town hall and at annual town meeting, and whether references to distribution at polling places should remain in the bylaw because early voting and mail ballots have shifted how and where residents cast ballots. Questions were raised about print quantities and logistics; staff told the board they typically procure a few hundred printed reports and that leftover copies are frequently returned after meetings.

Process and timing: Matt requested the Select Board’s concurrence to circulate the draft to department heads and committee chairs for a 14‑day comment period ending Feb. 5, incorporate any comments, and return it for a second reading the first meeting in February. After that, he proposed sending the revised draft to town counsel for a legal sufficiency review before a final decision on whether to include the amendments on the ATM warrant.

Why it matters: Board members said the annual town report is a key document for voter information and that incomplete or late publication undermines residents’ ability to research warrant articles. The board asked staff to provide distribution cost estimates and to test language about physical availability at town hall and at the annual town meeting; they agreed the bylaw should preserve public access while avoiding an unworkable mandate tied to shifting polling practices.

Next steps: The board agreed to the 14‑day comment period and asked Matt and staff to return the revised text at the board’s first February meeting, then route the document to town counsel for legal review if the board approves a second reading.