Selectboard Correspondence - How the Selectboard Functions

Submitted by the Princeton Selectboard

Our meetings and deliberations are constrained by the Open Meeting Law (OML). Since we are a committee of three, we can’t communicate with each other outside of a posted open meeting. “Posted” means the agenda has been posted at least 48 hours in advance. Agendas and minutes for all of our meetings can be found here. We also record our meetings and these recordings can be obtained from the Town Clerk by emailing townclerk@town.princeton.ma.us

So when someone asks: “Is the rumor true that the SB plans to do something,?“ you can find the answer by checking any of the above sources. If it’s not on an agenda, we didn’t discuss it. Of course, we recognize that some people are asking these questions in order to spread rumors.

Because of the OML, our meetings are the only time when we can work together to conduct business. While we want to hear from residents, we serve the entire town and must have sufficient time to address a myriad of issues. Take a look at our agendas to get a sense of this.

We have three ways to hear from residents:

1. During the public comment period at the beginning of each meeting when we limit comment time to three minutes per residents. Some towns don’t have a public comment period. We could find none that allowed unlimited time. We will seldom respond to comments since this could constitute a violation of the OML if the issue referenced is not on the agenda.
2. By writing to the Selectboard.
3. By requesting that an issue be put on the agenda.

Please take a moment to review out Public Participation Policy

The OML law limits our ability to engage with residents on social media. This can be frustrating to us when residents post information that is false. Typically the best we can do is point residents to accurate information sources. For a previous Selectboard message on the OML, go to https://www.town.princeton.ma.us/board-selectmen/pages/letter-selectboar...

We have also been asked why we meet in the morning. Every time a new member joins the Board, we discuss acceptable meeting times for all three members who may have various work and life schedules. Three years ago, we moved to the morning at the request of a Board member who ran a business primarily in the late afternoon and early evening. To our surprise, attendance improved at our meetings. We found it advantageous that town hall employees were also available without having to pay them overtime. And we found that we were more alert than we were at meetings that sometimes ran to 11:30 PM. We fully expect that meeting days and times may change whenever a new member joins the Board.

During budget season, we had six opportunities for residents to provide input; three in the morning and three in the evening. Our PFAs information sessions have been in the evening. So we are trying to maintain a balance since we realize that no time will work for everyone. If you have an issue that you’d like to discuss with us and our current meeting time doesn’t work for you, we will attempt to accommodate you.

Our goal is to be as open and transparent as possible, which is one of the reasons we send out these communications. You can find more of them at https://www.town.princeton.ma.us/selectboard/pages/selectboard-communica...

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