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Sudbury subcommittee recommends rescinding dozens of legacy policies, flags fee schedules for replacement
Summary
At a Dec. 20 Policies and Procedures Subcommittee meeting, members voted 2-0 to recommend rescinding a long list of legacy policies and to rescind multiple fee schedules pending replacement; staff and counsel were assigned follow-up tasks and several items will be discussed by the full Select Board.
Subcommittee member Dan Carty and Subcommittee member Lisa Kouchakdjian voted unanimously Dec. 20 to recommend that the Select Board rescind a slate of long-standing town policies and to remove multiple historic fee schedules pending a replacement.
The action, taken at the Policies and Procedures Subcommittee’s virtual meeting, followed a review of how town policies should be displayed online. Member Carty presented a draft webpage modeled on the Town of Stow, and Town Manager Andy Sheehan noted that "other municipalities typically display the policies in a PDF." The subcommittee agreed to prepare a consolidated, up-to-date set of policy documents for the Select Board to review.
Carty offered the primary motion and Kouchakdjian seconded. In one motion the subcommittee "moved to recommend rescission of traffic control signs policy, policy for use of town hall facilities, advertising and directional signs policy, facility use policy, Selectmen’s rules and regulations regarding site plans, investment guidelines, Board of Selectmen’s budget policies, Electric Sign Board Policy, Road Opening Policy, Email Communications Policy and Code of Conduct for Committees Created or Whose Members are Appointed by the Board of Selectmen, Portable Sign Permit 2007 form & Policy, and Permission to grant alcohol sales during polling hours." The motion passed 2-0.
In a second motion, Carty "moved to recommend rescission of the following policies pending a replacement appropriate fee schedule, Fee schedules and changes for all licenses and permits commencing January 1, 2004, Traffic Rules and Order, Transfer Station Fees, Ambulance Fees, Trash Disposal Fees, Package Store Annual License Fees, Cemetery Fee, Increase in Billiards and Bowling Fees, Increase in Fire Dept. permit fees, Bus revolving fund fees, Instrumental music fund fee, and Town Clerk fee increase." That motion also passed 2-0.
The subcommittee separately reviewed policies that remain active but need follow-up, including the Affirmative Action policy, Town Trust Fund investment policy, Sudbury Trust Program policy, and BYOB rules (which the subcommittee moved to the active list). The subcommittee asked counsel to review the Training for Dispensers and Sellers of Alcoholic Beverages to determine whether it should be rescinded. Carty was asked to examine Selectmen Alcohol Rules and Regulations for redundancy. Several procedural policies — the Procedure for Adding Agenda Items, Board of Selectmen Chairman and Vice-Chairman Responsibilities, and the Town Manager Evaluation Procedure — were recommended for rescission or further review.
Town Manager Andy Sheehan was assigned to locate the most recent votes and create PDFs of active policies. The record shows Victor Garofalo will provide an investment policy for Select Board review; counsel will review alcohol training policy; and other items were assigned to move to an active tier or be discussed with the full Select Board, including the Flag policy and the Sewataro Use policy.
The subcommittee approved minutes from Oct. 4 and Nov. 8, 2024, and agreed to refrain from scheduling a next meeting pending direction from the full Select Board. Member Kouchakdjian will prepare the minutes from this meeting. The meeting adjourned at 12:19 p.m.
