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Westborough amends flag policy to allow Progress Pride flag in June and proclaims Pride Month
Summary
The Select Board voted to add the Progress Pride flag to the town’s flag policy for the month of June, limited flagpoles were specified and a Pride Month proclamation for June 2024 was adopted. Staff will verify which town flagpoles can physically host the additional flag this year.
The Westborough Select Board voted June 11 to amend the town flag policy to add a short list of government‑position flags — including the Progress Pride flag (to be flown during June), the Department of Public Works flag, a Town of Westborough flag and the Westborough Public Schools flag — and to adopt a proclamation declaring June 2024 as Pride Month.
Resident Julie McCoy, who gave her address and presented research to the board, urged the change: "I am recommending that the flag policy in the town of Westborough be modified to include the Progress Pride flag being flown on the town flagpole during Pride Month, which is the month of June," she said, citing other Massachusetts communities that have amended policies.
Board members framed the change as a statement of town government policy — government speech — and debated whether to take a narrowly tailored approach (a single flag for Pride Month) or broaden the policy to recognize other federally recognized heritage months. A motion adopted by the board specifically listed the flags allowed under Section 3(a), limited those flags to two town flagpoles (the Memorial/Forbes Municipal Building pole and Bay State Commons) with the exception that the POW/MIA flag may also remain on the rotary, and required any ceremonial flag to fly below the United States and POW/MIA flags.
Members also asked staff to confirm logistics (which poles can physically accommodate an additional flag and whether new clips/ropes are needed) and whether the flag could reasonably fly this June; staff agreed to investigate and report back. The board also approved a separate proclamation declaring June 2024 as Pride Month and read language affirming the town’s commitment to an inclusive and welcoming community.
The motion was adopted by the board and the proclamation was approved at the meeting; staff will follow up on implementation details and exact locations where the Progress Pride flag can be flown this year.
