Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Select board debates scope and enforceability of committee and personnel policies
Summary
The board reviewed a 12-page committee-policy draft and a revised personnel policy; members urged streamlining, prioritized legally required updates, and asked for attorney review before adopting any formal policies.
The Townshend Select Board revisited committee and personnel-policy drafts forwarded by the policy committee and deliberated how formal the documents should be.
Members said the committee-policy draft is lengthy and raised concerns about enforceability if the board is required to implement complex rules with frequent turnover. One board member said extensive formalization could "muzzle" volunteer input; another suggested prioritizing legally required updates (for example, personnel or procurement items highlighted in an audit report). A policy committee representative (introduced as Christine) offered to streamline the documents and provide a table of contents or summary page for volunteers.
The chair recommended taking time to review the drafts, asking the policy committee to produce a concise version or highlights, and requesting the town attorney to review any policy before formal adoption.
