In an effort to make Town Meeting and the committee appointment process more transparent, Town Moderator Michael Crowley is establishing a Moderator’s Advisory Committee.
Essentially, the committee—which will comprise one Town Meeting member from each of the eight precincts—will help interview potential appointees to each of the four committees overseen by the moderator. Those include the Warrant Committee, the Bylaw Review Committee, the Comprehensive Capital Budget Committee and the Permanent Building Plan Committee.
Other committees with moderator appointments include the Library Building Committee, the Middle and High School Building Committee, and the Municipal Skating Rink Building Committee.
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The eight-person committee will also advise the moderator on procedural aspects of Town Meeting, such as speaking limits or rules around non-Town Meeting member participation. A recent survey requesting such input was circulated to Town Meeting members and will also be taken into consideration as certain issues are discussed. Members of the advisory committee will also be responsible for updating the Town Meeting Member Handbook, which was last updated in 2015.
The creation of this committee fulfills a commitment Crowley made when running for election.
“I’m a big believer in participatory democracy. … The notion here, in tying back to participatory democracy, is to involve Town Meeting members a little more formally in some of the moderator’s decision-making,” said Crowley.
According to an email sent to Town Meeting members, Crowley expects the time commitment to be no more than two to three hours, with meetings taking place twice each month. For now, he anticipates members of the advisory committee will serve for about a year.
Ideally, Crowley is looking for Town Meeting members with at least three years of experience on Town Meeting. He would also prefer candidates who are not currently a member of one of the moderator-appointed committees.
“Ultimately, I’m looking for the unbiased input of Town Meeting members,” he said.
Based on his last review of the four core committees he is charged with appointing members to, each has one vacancy and one person up for reappointment, with the exception of the Warrant Committee, which has at least three vacancies, plus upcoming reappointments.
“The reappointments are not guaranteed,” he said. “I want to interview people first before I make decisions and I’d like the moderator’s advisory committee to [interview them] as well.”
Until candidates can be interviewed by the advisory committee and replacements named, Crowley has asked current committee members whose terms are expiring June 30 to continue serving until their seat can be filled.
“I’ll do what I can to get the process underway more quickly,” he said.
