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Select Board presses volunteer committees to meet open‑meeting posting rules; staff to draft checklist
Summary
A lengthy Jan. 20 discussion in Londonderry highlighted repeated late or incorrect agenda postings by volunteer committees. Staff said committees are legally responsible for postings and the board agreed staff will draft a concise checklist and offer onboarding help to reduce errors.
The Londonderry Select Board spent the bulk of its Jan. 20 meeting addressing recurring problems with how volunteer committees post agendas and materials under state open‑meeting law. Staff member (S3) told the board that committees have repeatedly submitted late or inaccurate agendas and that the town office has been left to enforce or correct postings.
"State law says it's not our responsibility. It's it's the committee's responsibility to abide by open‑meeting laws, not ours," S3 said, describing a pattern in which agendas arrive after hours or in formats the clerk cannot post. Board members said the workload and turnover among volunteer chairs make consistent, timely posting difficult and raised concerns that staff are sometimes forced to refuse or rescind postings when legal requirements are not met.
Board members proposed a practical remedy: a brief, written checklist and a short onboarding packet for new committee chairs describing timing, acceptable formats, and the town's posting locations (town clerk office, two post offices and the website). S4 and others urged that the checklist be distributed by the select board rather than only by office staff so expectations are clear. The board asked staff to draft the checklist and offer brief training to committee chairs; no formal vote was required for the action.
The exchange included repeated examples of late postings and misformatted minutes; several members emphasized the need to preserve volunteers while making responsibilities clear. "A checklist would be nice," S10 said, recommending the board disseminate it directly to committees.
Board members said the checklist and training should reduce staff burden and lower the chance that legally required postings will be missed or require meeting cancelations.
