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Millis Select Board adopts FY27 goals, debates website and communications capacity
Summary
The select board adopted FY27 goals that prioritize roads, housing, sewer capacity, digitized records and improved town communications; members discussed identifying the town website as the primary posting source, staffing limits and a planned July 1 soft launch of a new website.
The Millis Select Board voted to adopt its FY27 goals after a broad discussion of priorities that included maintaining the municipal/school budget split, funding roads and sidewalks, expanding town services for seniors, supporting affordable housing and digitizing town records.
Members spent significant time on a proposal to designate the town website as the primary place to post agendas and notices to improve transparency and accessibility. Town staff and board members said most boards already post online but acknowledged inconsistencies — for example, the Millis Housing/Millis Housing Authority posting location was not readily visible. Staff noted a new website vendor has been hired and a soft launch was planned for July 1; the new site will include an app and opt-in messaging. Select Board members cautioned against making a formal policy change immediately while the migration is in progress, and discussed the town clerk’s role and bandwidth constraints if the website becomes the single primary source.
Board Chair Craig Schultz said the goals document consolidated member inputs and will guide the board’s work on budget, infrastructure, charter review, economic-development overlays and communications improvements. Lauren Barnes and others emphasized that economic-development work requires sustained volunteer and business leadership; Jim Duffy and other members suggested clearer division of communications responsibilities and potential newsletters as part of the communications goal.
The board voted to accept the FY27 goals as written. Staff will continue work on the new website and the board asked staff to consult legal counsel and neighboring towns about best practices before formally designating the website as the primary posting source.
