Wolfeboro Select Board approves committee roster, adopts code of ethics and advances new rules on in‑meeting communications

The Wolfeboro Board of Selectmen on April 22 amended and approved its committee assignments, adopted a draft code of ethics and approved a municipal committee chair guide, while debating new limits on in‑meeting electronic communications and a process for circulating information between meetings.

The meeting, convened as a continuation to finish items that ran past the board’s 9 p.m. cutoff at the prior session, opened with the chair explaining the night’s focus on governance documents and the board’s work plan. The board unanimously approved an amended committee list that corrected term dates, reassigned members on the bike‑trails committee and added a notation that Selectman Thurston cannot attend committee meetings before 3 p.m. The chair read the motion to adopt the list; after an amendment and a second the board voted by voice to approve the changes.

Why it matters: the committee roster and associated notes determine who represents the board on committees and which committees must furnish quarterly reports when they receive town funds. Linda, a select board member, raised a bookkeeping error in O’Brien’s listed term and pressed for clearer packet materials so members can review RSAs and other authorities before decisions.

On ethics, the board approved a draft code of ethics dated April 22, 2026, and agreed to append a New Hampshire Municipal Association (NHMA) flowchart on Right‑to‑Know issues. Linda, who said she helped draft earlier versions, urged retaining conflict‑of‑interest language referencing RSA guidance; the board adopted the draft by voice vote after a motion and second.

Board members spent substantial time on a multi‑page rules‑of‑procedure document (branded in the packet as WolfPRO). Members agreed that in‑meeting side conversations and real‑time electronic messaging (text, email) can undermine transparency. Linda proposed wording to discourage use of cell phones and to prevent the use of personal devices to convey questions from members of the public or private parties during a Select Board meeting unless the board authorizes it; the chair and others said notebooks or a limited set of files may remain for reference. The board asked staff (Amy) to receive written language so the policy can be finalized in a subsequent revision.

On communication between meetings, members debated how information gathered between sessions should be shared with the full board. The board reached consensus that the town manager should provide consolidated weekly notes and that board members who receive substantive information should ask the manager to circulate it to the entire board so everyone is working from the same packet materials.

The meeting concluded with a public comment from Karen Bernankeuri of Wolfeboro urging the board to prioritize restoring critical town staff, and a unanimous vote to enter a nonpublic session under the legal authority cited earlier in the meeting. The board directed staff to fold committee changes, the NHMA attachment, and proposed electronic device language into future packets so members can sign and finalize the rules at a later meeting.

Ending: The Select Board’s next steps are to have staff append the NHMA flowchart to the code of ethics, circulate the revised rules‑of‑procedure language for review, and return the updated packet at the next public meeting.