Municipal Technology Committee appoints volunteer data-science student to analyze town surveys

The Municipal Technology Committee of the Town of Southborough voted unanimously to appoint Paul, a college data-science student, as a volunteer consultant to analyze the town’s survey data.

The committee’s chair explained the volunteer will work with MDC-administered survey results and noted that any consultant who accesses town data must be formally appointed under committee procedures. Paul told the group he is a data science student who works as a university data analyst and has experience designing and analyzing surveys for nonprofit groups.

Committee members emphasized that the 2025 survey results are not yet final. The chair said he expects to work with Paul in the coming week to produce per-department analyses, which the committee will share first with the Select Board and then with department heads so those offices can incorporate the findings into budget and strategic planning.

The motion to appoint Paul was moved and seconded and passed on a roll-call vote in which members responded "I"; the record at the meeting shows the vote was unanimous. Earlier in the meeting the committee also approved the May meeting minutes by unanimous roll-call vote.

The committee discussed scheduling for the next resident survey and agreed members prefer an October window for a 2026 launch to avoid September school and holiday conflicts and to inform departments ahead of the upcoming budget season.

Next steps: the committee will finalize an appointment record for Paul, coordinate data access under town rules for handling PII, and circulate the date for the next meeting (tentatively July 27) and the upcoming per-department survey outputs.