The Great Barrington Finance Committee on Nov. 18 agreed to hold a joint meeting with the Select Board on Dec. 15 to finalize disputed language in a proposed bond-related budget guideline that the Select Board advanced without Finance Committee representation. Chair Rich Schuyler said the meeting will give both bodies a chance to negotiate wording together.

The committee’s decision follows concerns raised by committee members who said the Select Board’s Nov. 3 agenda included the committee’s bond-language item and approved the policy without finance committee participation. Committee members urged a joint session so all parties can hear the same conversation and agree on final language.

Town administrator Liz Hartsgrove confirmed the joint meeting is the appropriate forum and said she will email the committee to confirm the Dec. 15 date and to request a written confirmation of attendance. "You do have the ability to either make a decision on the Select Board's vote ... or you can accept their invitation for either the first or the fifteenth to then have that face-to-face dialogue," Hartsgrove said.

Hartsgrove also described a new FY27 budget action calendar she and staff are preparing to make the process more transparent and efficient. The calendar will list internal steps, committee and Select Board steps, charter and bylaw references, and tentative dates so staff and the public can track capital requests, fee changes and other budget actions. "We're going to be starting to train the staff on how best practices of putting together a really comprehensive budget that has full detail that the public can access," Hartsgrove said.

Committee members said they welcome a joint session to reduce repeated back-and-forth amendments and to ensure the public and all officials hear the same discussion. Hartsgrove said she would circulate the draft calendar and confirmed staff will include the committee’s preferred approach (formal vote or recorded consensus) when the joint meeting agenda is posted.

Next steps: Hartsgrove will send a confirmation email to the committee, staff will post the joint meeting agenda, and the committee will use the FY27 calendar drafts to guide subsequent budget review meetings.