Select Board advances policy overhaul: subcommittee compiles town policies; code‑of‑conduct review to continue

Select Board members reported progress on a multi‑year effort to inventory and organize town policies and discussed next steps for formalizing a code of conduct.

Dan and Lisa — members of a policy subcommittee — told the board they had reviewed 25 years of meeting minutes, assembled roughly 70 policy items into a spreadsheet, and color‑coded items for readiness. The subcommittee recommended publishing policies in a web‑hosted, centralized location to make them easier to find and to maintain as living documents. Dan said the subcommittee hoped to prioritize quick updates (for example, fee policies) and then proceed through more complex policies one at a time.

The board also reviewed a draft combined code of conduct derived from MIIA/MMA model language and Town Counsel’s redline. Members flagged a handful of technical edits (capitalization and out‑of‑date links), recommended removing embedded links and instead directing readers to the centralized policy repository, and asked staff to ensure current fraud and anti‑discrimination policies were referenced correctly. Several members requested the code of conduct and the policy spreadsheet be included in onboarding materials for newly appointed or elected officials.

The board agreed to continue the code‑of‑conduct discussion and to return a revised draft (with counsel and staff edits) at a future meeting. Dan and Lisa will continue to refine the policy inventory and recommend a prioritized schedule for board review and adoption.

Next steps: staff to publish the subcommittee spreadsheet to board members, replace embedded links in the code‑of‑conduct draft with references to a central policy library, and return a revised code for board action.