HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-08-16 Board of Selectmen Minutes Board of Selectmen Meeting
August 16,2005
For ease of archiving, the order that items appear in these Minutes reflects the order in
which the items appeared on the agenda for that meeting, and are not necessarily the
order in which any item was taken up by the Board.
The meeting convened at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Berger Room, 16 Lowell Street,
Reading; Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Camille Anthony, Vice Chairman
Richard Schubert, Secretary Joseph Duffy and Selectmen James Bonazoli and Ben
Tafoya,
Discussion/Action Items
Board of Selectmen's Retreat — Selectman Ben Tafoya gave an update of the Town
Accountant process. He had called each of the four candidates who had withdrawn to
seek feedback on the process. The Search Committee will be meeting to discuss a slate
of candidates.
The Board then began the discussion of the Retreat Agenda with Vice Chairman Richard
Schubert acting as Scribe. The mission of the evening was to evaluate the framework of
our present methods of operation. The group agreed that a procedures manual should be
developed for reference and would aid future Board members.
Liaison Assignments
Need for communication with Chairman.
When major projects/issues were to be discussed, Liaison is to attend meeting.
Initial contact with B/C/C can be written or a call to the Chairman. However, attendance
at a meeting is preferable.
B/C/C Chairmen should contact Liaison on significant issues that arise.
All Department Heads and B/C/C Chairmen are to send Agenda and Minutes to the
Board of Selectmen.
Tracking Proiects and Issues
The Board acknowledged that items that had come to its attention needed a defined
process to follow the issue to completion. These issues/problems could be raised by
citizens' concerns, the result of the need for Board action as a result of Town work, or the
need for the development of policies.
Therefore, the following process was developed to stay focused:
Acknowledge
Categorize
Prioritize
Track
Board of Selectmen Meeting—August 16, 2005 —Page 2
In order to maintain an efficient tracking system, it was suggested that an Excel
worksheet be developed for the issues/projects which will indicate the following: I
♦ Which Town Department has ownership of the item
Board of Selectmen Liaison to the Department
Current status of the issue
Follow-Up/Action needed
In addition, the Board will implement the following steps if additional information is
available for those items, or if other issues arise which are not currently on the tracking
sheet:
Each member will electronically share any important information to the other.members,
and the Town Manager that will be added to the "Master"tracking sheet.
The Board will designate agenda time at the beginning of the meeting to review the
tracking sheet so items are dealt with promptly.
Finally, Selectman Ben Tafoya suggested that all long-standing issues need to be
addressed; i.e., Old Sanborn Road. The Board agreed that we need to come to a final
decision as to the Town's position in such instances.
Communication with Press
When necessary, we should ask for corrections to statements that have been incorrect.
Members should comment where and when appropriate and comfortable with statement.
Communication with Citizens
Office Hours:
Starting in the Fall,the Selectmen will institute Office Hours which will be held prior to a
Tuesday night meeting. In order to have consistency, the Board will designate a specific
night and time which will be the same for each month.
The following should be publicized on the website and cable:
o Monthly Schedule
♦ Agenda of upcoming items
Your Community Connection should include.an article written by a Board member about
a current issue.
Communication with Employees
The caveat is that the Board of Selectmen "Sets the Broad Policy and Direction of the
Community," and all concerns about employees should be addressed to the Town
Manager. However, in order to address "employee-citizen" interaction issues, which
have been directed to a Selectman, the Board member will revisit the concerns with the
Town Manager and a decision will be made as to whom will interface with the citizen. If
it is the Town Manager, the resolution of the issue needs to be reported back to the
Selectman involved.
Board of Selectmen Meeting_August 16, 2005—Page 3
The Board then discussed the need for further dialogue as to how we approach
differences of policy between it and the departments; i.e.,tickets vs. warnings, three bites
vs. ?bites, zoning process, etc. This is a future ACTION item.
The Board needs to relate its Goals to Town employees.
Action Items for Departments:
♦ Customer Service Survey
Meeting Agenda and Protocol
Each agenda should have the following:
♦ Thirty minutes for Liaison Reports, Comments and Public Input.
♦ Time allotted to review ongoing issues (Tracking Sheet).
♦ Time to discuss future Agenda items and decide what materials or actions might be
needed by the Board prior to the meeting.
♦ In addition, the Board needs to receive material for upcoming Agenda items sooner
than the prior Friday.
The final discussion item was a presentation by Selectman Ben Tafoya of the 2005
Insurance Summary for the Town of Reading that showed the claims and premiums for
each of the health plan offerings.
On motion by Schubert seconded by Duffy, the Board of Selectmen voted to adiourn
their meeting of August 16, 2005 at 10:14 p.m.by a vote of 5-0-0.
Respectfully submitted,
v ,
Secretary