Select Board Meeting Procedures

General Procedures

• The Select Board shall conduct regularly scheduled meetings at 7p.m. on the first and third Thursday of every month. They may occasionally change these meeting dates and times, and may also schedule additional meetings when the need arises.
• All meetings shall be properly posted with the Town Clerk at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.
• Meeting agendas will be drafted by the Chairman and the Town Administrator, and will be reviewed with the other selectmen prior to being finalized.
• Agendas will be posted to the website at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. Copies of the agenda shall be made and available to attendees of the meeting.
• All requests for time on the selectmen’s agenda shall be received by the Town Administrator or Town Secretary at least seven days prior to the meeting. In emergency or unforeseen situations, the Chairman and the Town Administrator shall consult with each other and the other selectmen if appropriate to decide whether or not time can be added to the agenda within the seven days prior to the meeting.
• An informational packet containing background materials, related to the topics on the agenda, will be compiled by the Town Administrator and Town Secretary, and be available for the selectmen to pick up at least two days prior to the meeting. Therefore any materials for items appearing on the agenda should be submitted by no later than four days prior to the meeting.
• All requests for information from other agencies or departments shall by made by the Select Board through the selectmen liaison or the town administrator.

Procedures for Conducting Selectmen Meetings

• The Chairman of the selectmen shall occupy the middle chair at the appointed meeting time, call the meeting to order, and, a quorum being present, and proceed with the order of business.  
• The Chairman shall begin each agenda item by briefly reading the agenda item or indicating its purpose.
• The Chairman shall preserve decorum and order.  

Any person wishing to address the board will be given the opportunity to do so in accordance with the following procedures:

1. Persons wishing to address the board on an item which appears on the agenda shall wait until the topic is opened for discussion. Public comment on an agenda item is encouraged to be limited to no more than three minutes per speaker, unless the speaker is the subject of or requestor of the agenda item. The Chair is granted the discretion to allow an extension of time if deemed necessary. In the case of a person directly involved in the agenda item as noted, that person should workout beforehand with the Town Administrator or Chairman the amount of time needed to adequately address the subject.
2. The public shall be encouraged to limit their comments to items directly relating to the actual agenda item, and not to repeat statements made by prior speakers. Endorsing a previous statement is acceptable. The Chair may decide questions of relevance. The Chair shall not allow comments of a personal or derogatory nature, as they relate to the applicant, selectmen, or other speakers.
3. All inquiries and statements by the public and/or press shall be made through the Chairman after being recognized.
4. No statements shall be allowed between members of the audience or members of the audience and members of the board, without the Chairman’s approval.
5. Once the public hearing has been closed, or public comment has ceased on an agenda item, the selectmen shall begin its deliberating. The Chair, at his/her discretion, may allow additional clarification of the facts from the audience, and individual selectmen may ask specific questions.
6. Persons wishing to address the selectmen on an item not appearing on the agenda may do so only upon approval from the selectmen. This approval may be granted as time may permit during the meeting, with no guarantee to the person as to when during the meeting the board will be able to hear the person. In the event a person desiring to speak is not able to, that person should contact the Town Administrator following the meeting to arrange an appointment at the next meeting.
7. Any person wishing to address the selectmen shall so signify by raising a hand and being recognized by the Chairman.
8. The person, after being recognized, must state for the record his or her name and street address (if a Bolton resident) and relationship to an agenda item (e.g. attorney for an applicant, engineer for the town, board member from another town if a non-resident).

All motions shall be clearly stated with the Town Secretary indicating she has recorded the exact wording of the motion.  

The Chairman shall declare all votes of the board.

• Show respect for others
• Discuss policies and ideas, not people
• Only one person may speak at any given time
• Speak as you would like to be spoken to
• Use courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms.)
• Restate ideas when asked
• Use a civil tone of voice
• Agree to listen and do not interrupt another person
• Respectfully listen to differing points of view
• When unsure, ask for clarification
• Realize that what you say and what people understand you to have said may be different
• Recognize that people can agree to disagree
• Speak for yourself, not others, unless you are representing a group that has authorized you to speak for it
• Speak from your own experience
• Use “I” Statements