Select Board leans toward putting recall-election language on warrant; committee to refine language with town counsel

Members of the review committee and several Select Board members resumed deliberations on proposed changes to the Town Manager and Town Meeting Acts, centering on a recall-election provision the committee drafted. Board members said the proposal is a "nuclear option" intended only for extraordinary misconduct; the legal path to implement such a change requires a home-rule petition to the legislature and coordination with town counsel.

Key procedural details discussed included a required affidavit from at least 350 voters to initiate a process that would produce petition blanks, a 20-business-day window to collect signatures, and a 5-business-day certification period by registrars. Participants debated whether recall should be allowed "for any reason" (as in some sample acts) or whether the language should exclude votes as grounds for recall. Some board members argued the public should be able to recall for any reason, while others urged restricting recall to non-routine misconduct so elected officials are not removed simply for unpopular votes.

Committee members and the town manager recommended that staff and town counsel refine the language and confirm which townwide offices will be subject to a recall (the original draft and prior research included select board, school committee, library trustees and housing authority). Mike Trainor, representing the review committee, and others explained that procedural protections such as the six-month windows at the start and end of a term are common and intended to avoid wholesale board turnover. The meeting closed with consensus to send revised draft language to town counsel, prepare a Select Board warrant article if appropriate, and schedule public hearings as part of the Dec. 16 warrant-hearing calendar.