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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-09-29 Board of Selectmen PacketTown of Reading Mission The Town of Reading strives for excellence in all its services from education to government - and seeks to enhance and enrich the social, intellectual, and leisure life of the community. 3 Municipal Government In support of the Town of Reading Mission, Reading Municipal Government will: ® help residents identify with their community by supporting volunteerism and civic engagement, ® create opportunities for public discourse about community issues and encourage citizen participation in planning and decision-making ® commit itself to community-responsive services that incorporate best practices and a strong orientation to customer service ® support open and transparent, government with convenient avenues for communication and access ® enhance the integrity and livability of its many fine neighborhoods by supporting community initiatives for preservation and improvements ® uphold the character of Reading by actively encouraging efforts to document and preserve the history of the community, its historic buildings and areas, and prized open spaces. 4 ® embrace diversity by striving to provide varied housing choices and diversifying the municipal workforce by recruiting, hiring, and promoting persons of all backgrounds and races ® enhance the social, civic, and intellectual life of residents by offering a broad range of services and programs 5 Values The municipal government of the Town of Read ing wil l be guided by t he fol lowing val ues: Integrity and Transparency ® Reading municipal government and its employees and officials will be guided by the highest standards of ethics and integrity. ® Municipal business will be conducted in an open manner with opportunities for public discussion and input into decisions. ® The community will be kept informed with open communication. ® All official business will be conducted in a civil, professional, and mutually respectful manner. Excellence ,*Excellence will be the standard for all municipal services, with continuous review and evaluation of best practices, incorporating new methods and technologies, striving for efficiency and cost effectiveness. s ® Reading municipal government will, make decisions based on careful planning consistent with town-wide goals. Diversity ® Municipal government will encourage diversity and respect for differences in the conduct of its business and in recruiting and hiring personnel and in providing enrichment opportunities for the community. Community The following are values that the community holds in high regards: ® Social, Environmental, and Financial Sustainability ® Tolerance, Civility and Cultural Diversity ® Volunteerism and Civic Engagement ® Historic Preservation and Open Space ® Recreational, Cultural, and Educational Opportunities Establishing a pilot program related to the appointment of volunteers to Town of Reading BCC The Board of Selectmen hereby implements the following process as a pilot process in order to address the following 2 issues related to the Board of Selectmen consideration of and appointment to the various Boards, Committees, and Commissions (BCC) of the Town of Reading: 1. The amount of time taken by the Board of Selectmen and volunteers for this process seems extraordinary and not necessarily productive 2. The depth of interviews given time constraints does not allow the Board of Selectmen to do a thorough job of interviewing. The pilot process will be as follows: 1. Continue the paperwork process of asking incumbents whether or not they wish to be considered for reappointment 2. Continue the process of application by potential new applicants for BCC's 3. Have the Board of Selectmen appoint a two member Volunteer Appointment Sub-Committee (VASC) at the time that Board of Selectmen liaison assignments are established. No member will serve on the VASC for two consecutive terms. 4. Have the VASC schedule meetings to interview all potential BCC members, including any incumbents that wish an interview, and any incumbents that the Board of Selectmen or the VASC wishes to interview. This process will be used for the "annual" appointment process as well as any appointments that come up during the year. The meetings of the VASC will be posted and open to the public. 5. The VASC would then inform all candidates for appointment or reappointment of the slate of candidates for each BCC that would be recommended to the full Board of Selectmen. 6. The VASC would transmit a slate of candidates for each BCC to the entire Board of Selectmen along with a list of all candidates who had applied for each BCC. A copy of the application form and/or resume for any new candidate would also be provided to the entire Board of Selectmen. 7. In early June, the slate would be presented to the Board of Selectmen as a "consent" item on. the agenda. Any member of the Board of Selectmen could ask for any BCC to be removed from the consent item for consideration by the full Board of Selectmen. Any candidate for a position to a BCC could also ask the Board of Selectmen to consider the BCC for which they applied to be removed from the consent item for consideration by the full Board of Selectmen. The consent item with any remaining BCC appointments would then be considered and voted in its entirety. 8. Any BCC appointments pulled from the consent item would then be scheduled for interview during succeeding Board of Selectmen meetings in June, and the appointment process to that BCC would be the same process as current. 9. This pilot program will be in effect through June 30, 2010, and will be evaluated by the Board of Selectmen no later than August 31, 2010 to determine whether it should be modified and continued. Adopted 84-09 8 ab~ Operating Procedures for Boards, Committees, Commissions, and Task Forces Town of Reading, Massachusetts The following are operating procedures for all Boards, Committees, Commissions and Task Forces ("bodies") of the Town of Reading. These guidelines are meant to assist you in your work, and to ensure that the operation of the "body" meets the requirements of State and Town law and practice. ➢ The "body" on which you serve is a legally constituted body of the Town of Reading. All Open Public Meeting Law, Conflict of Interest Law, and other regulations apply to all members of the body. Training on Ethics and Conflict of Interest law is available each fall, and all members of every "body" are required to take the training in order to be covered by the Town's indemnification. ➢ All Town "bodies" fit into an operating Department for organizational and support purposes: All Departments have a Department Head who will usually be your main contact. ➢ Each "body" of the Town appointed by the Board of Selectmen has a member of the Board of Selectmen as a liaison. This liaison may change annually as the Board of Selectmen reorganizes. The liaison should be copied on agendas, and is available upon request to discuss any matters that the "body" needs to discuss with the liaison. Selectmen liaison members may also periodically attend meetings of each of the "bodies" that they are liaison to, but time demands do not allow them to always do so. ➢ Staff assistance will be provided to each "body" to the extent that is possible. Recording Secretaries are not available except in very unusual situations. Unless staff assistance is permanently assigned to a "body", requests for staff assistance must go through the Town Manager. Generally, staff members are not assigned to be members of Town "bodies", in order to keep the appropriate separation between policy roles and administrative roles. ➢ As an organization it is the Town's belief that volunteers deserve the maximum support that the Town can give them, including having the information they need to conduct their business in a timely manner. The Town will assist with photocopying and mailing. ➢ Assistance from specialists outside of your Department, such as legal counsel and financial advisors,' are available upon request through the Town Manager. The RMLD provides legal counsel and financial advisors for the Reading Municipal Light Board and the CAB. ➢ Before participating as a member of the "body", you must be appointed in the manner determined by the document that establishes the "body", (usually by the Board of Selectmen) and you must be sworn in by the Town Clerk. ➢ All meetings must be open to the public, and are required to be posted publicly through the Town Cleric's office at least 48 hours before the meeting, not including Sundays and legal holidays. Your Staff liaison (if any) will assist you in doing this posting, or the Office Manager in the Town Manager's office will take care of this task (942-9043). If the meeting has not been posted, you may not meet, even "informally" or in a "work session". In posting a meeting on standard fonms, the meeting place will be determined by staff, based on availability of space. All meetings must take place in a public place - usually Town Hall. You may not change the meeting place unless the meeting has been re-posted to a new location at least 48 hours before the meeting, not including Sundays and legal holidays. August 5, 2009 c:\Amipro\docs\gd I n-bcc.sam d C ( 9 ➢ Discussion of business being considered by a "body" must be in public session of the "body": Telephone meetings or email meetings or discussion of the business of the "body" by a majority of its members is not permitted. Dissemination of information to members of a body via mail, email or otherwise is permitted, as long as a copy of that information is made available to the public at the next meeting of the body. Often including a list of such materials on the agenda.of the meeting is helpful in letting the public know that such a document exists. A Meetings are not permitted on election days (where there is an election in this Town), during Town Meeting (you must adjourn no later than 1:25 PM), on legal holidays, and during certain religious holidays as determined by the Town Manager. ➢ You must provide minutes. Minutes must, at a minimum, state the date, time, and place of the meeting; who was present and spoke, and must record the actions taken including the vote. Draft minutes are a public record, and generally minutes from one meeting should be available for approval by the body at their next meeting. The original and 1 copy of all minutes is to be sent to the Town Clerk's office once approved. They will keep the official and permanent file of the minutes, and send the copy to the Reading Public Library as required by Charter. A A quorum of the meeting is a majority of the members of the "body" (i.e. the full authorized membership). If there is not a quorum present, the meeting cannot take place. The only action that can betaken taken is adjournment. ➢ Actions of the "body" will be effective only if a majority of the full authorized membership votes in the affirmative. For example, if a 9 member "body" has 6 members present, 5 affirmative votes are required to pass any action. (by State statute the Zoning Board of Appeals requires a unanimous affirmative vote on most issues) ➢ Voting must be done by roll call or by a show of hands -just voice votes are not permitted. A In general there will not be a need for an executive session. If the "body" anticipates discussing somethhzg that it feels will need to be discussed in Executive Session, please contact the Town Manager in advance to review the need and procedures. (For the RMLB and CAB, contact the General Manager). A Each "body" must select a chairman who will be responsible for running the meetings and developing an agenda. Additionally a vice-chairman may be selected, and someone will need to be designated to take minutes. A No "body" has authority to expend funds unless it has been specifically authorized to do so. If you're not sure, you probably are not authorized to expend money. To the extent that there is a need for funding, you should discuss this need with the Department Head, and then the Town Manager. (For the RMLB and the CAB, see the General Manager.) ➢ Pursuant to Selectmen's policy, no "body" is authorized to solicit or accept gifts unless specifically cleared through the Town Manager. ➢ Various "bodies" may have their own operating guidelines or "bylaws", and this is permissible so long as the operating guidelines or "bylaws" do not conflict with these procedures or any provision of State Law, Town Bylaws, or the Charter. ➢ Each "body" is accountable to its appointing authority, and reports should be made on either a specific or a periodic basis to the appointing authority. If the appointing authority is the Board of Selectmen, the report may be scheduled through the Town Manager. Additionally, annual reports of all bodies are required. August 5, 2009 c:\Amipro\docs\gdln-bcc.sam 10 ➢ The press may cover meetings of Town "bodies". All information available at the meeting is available to the press. Press releases on other than routine matters should be cleared with the Town Manager in advance. (RMLD press releases are cleared through the General Manager). Note - the Reading Municipal Light Department has somewhat separate governance from parts of Town government, although most of these guidelines still apply. The RMLD provides its own staff support to Boards, Committees and Commissions; provides legal assistance as required through the General Manager; and clears press releases through the General Manager. I hope these procedures help you in your work as a Town of Reading volunteer. If there's anything that hasn't been covered, or if there's any assistance you need, please don't hesitate to ask. THANKS FOR VOLUNTEERING! Peter I. Hechenbleikner Town Manager Amended 1-28-99 Amended 7-11-00 Amended 8-29-01 Amended 8-1-03 Amended 5-17-06 August 5, 2009 e:\Am i pro\docs\gd ln-bcc.sam g c,3 11 Code of Conduct Every member of every Board, Committee, or Commission (B/C/C) who has been appointed by the Reading Board of Selectmen to that position is expected to comply with the following Code of Conduct. Responsibilities • Realize that his or her function is to follow the mission statement of the B/C/C. • Realize that he or she is one of a team and without stifling free speech, each member should abide by all decisions of the B/C/C once they are made. • Be well informed concerning the duties and responsibilities,of the B/C/C. • Remember that he or she represents the entire community at all times. • Accepting the role of a B/C/C member is a means of unselfish service, not to benefit personally or politically from his or her B/C/C activities. Laws and Regulations Governing Action • Abide by the ethics guidelines established by the State. • Abide by all applicable state statutes and General Laws, Reading Home Rule Charter, Town Bylaws, and all applicable policies established by the Board of Selectmen, especially the email communications policy. Decision Making • Request assistance from Town staff or consultants only through the staff person assigned to the B/C/C. If no staff person is assigned, go through the Town Manager. • Not make statements or promises of how he or she will vote on matters that will come before the B/C/C until he or she has had an opportunity to hear the pros and cons of the issue during a public meeting of the B/C/C. • Make decisions only after all facts on a question have been presented and discussed. • Refrain from communicating the position of the B/C/C (as opposed to the member's personal position) to reporters or state officials unless the full B/C/C has previously agreed on both the position and the language of the position conveying the statement. Treatment of Public, Staff, and Other Members • Treat with respect all members of the B/C/C, all applicants to come before the B/C/C, and all staff and consultants working with the B/C/C, despite differences of opinion. Concerns about staff performance should only be made to the Town Manager or the Board of Selectmen liaison to the B/C/C through private conversation. • Insure that any materials or information provided to a B/C/C member from Town staff should be made available to all B/C/C members. • If circumstances change so that meeting attendance on a regular basis becomes difficult, the B/C/C member will offer his or her resignation to the Board of Selectmen, so that someone who can regularly attend meetings can be appointed by the Board. Enforcement If a B/C/C member's conduct is inconsistent with this code of conduct, the Board of Selectmen will determine whether action needs to be taken. Action may include: • a discussion with the Chairman of the BCC and/or the Board of Selectmen liaison to try to address the conduct; • Consideration by the Board of Selectmen relative to reappointment when that consideration comes before the Board of Selectmen. Adopted by the Board of Selectmen 619109 12 3e- kv) Board of Selectmen Meeting July 31, 2006 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 7:00 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Ben Tafoya, Vice Chairman James Bonazoli, Secretary Stephen Goldy, Selectman Camille .Anthony, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, Town Counsel Judy Pickett and DPW Director Ted McIntire. Discussion/Action Items Approval of Consent Order - MWRA Buy-In - The Town Manager presented the proposed Administrative Consent Order addressing the Town's purchase of MWRA water. He reviewed the Water Supply Update dated July 31, 2006. The Board asked several' questions including whether or not it would have an impact on the current year's water budget, and the effective date as listed in the MWRA commitment letter from Mr. Laskey, etc. All questions having been answered, on motion by Goldy seconded by Anthony, the Board of Selectmen pursuant to Section 5-2(a)(g of the Town of Reading's Home Rule Charter voted to accept the provisions of the Administrative Consent Order (ACO) NE - 06-F001, and authorize the Town Manager to sign the Administrative Consent Order on behalf of the Town of Readin! by a vote of 4-0-0. Appointment of Animal Control Appeals Committee -.The Town Manager asked the Board to establish an interim Animal Control Appeals Committee pursuant to the Animal Control Bylaw. The Board had questions about the definition of employee and deferred action on this matter until their meeting on August 8, 2006. The Town Manager indicated that there will probably be an appeal for the Committee to hear. The Town Manager presented the Board with two letters of support for grant applications to the Climate Change Program. One was for 34 trees on south Main Street, and the other was for the cost difference between a hybrid vehicle and a conventional passenger vehicle for the Department of Public Works Engineering Division. The Board endorsed both and the Chairman signed the letters, It was asked whether the trees for Main Street need to be on Main Street or 'can be at other locations. The Town Manager noted that this was part of the Master Plan for Downtown and extending the improvements on Main Street, and it really needed to be for Main Street. . yam. c 13 Board of Selectmen Meeting=JJuly 31, 2006 - Page 2 Additional information regarding the artificial turf fields and needing to remove the trees had been requested from Phil Vaccaro. The Town Manager suggested that additional trees to be planted might be planted elsewhere on the High School campus and when the Board does its site walk in September, they can look at potential locations. On motion by Bonazoli seconded by Anthony, the Board voted to adiourn the meeting of July 31, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. by a vote of 4-0-0: Respectfully submitted, S retary 14 L (O' SELECTMEN'S LIAISON ASSIGNMENTS - FY 2010 Chairman Ben Tafoya email: btafoya@ci.reading.ma.us Community Planning & Development Commission ✓ MAPC Historical Commission Board of Health Library Department Cultural Council Vice Chairman James Bonazoli email: jbonazoli@ci.reading.ma.us Economic Development Committee Trails Committee Department of Public Works Board of Cemetery Trustees MWRA Town Forest Committee Recreation Committee Downtown Steering Committee Secretary Camille Anthony email: canthony@ci.reading.ma.us Accounting Department Cities for Climate Protection Program Committee Economic Development Committee Trust Fund Commissioners Department of Public Safety Human Relations Advisory Committee Police Department Fire Department Selectman Stephen Goldy email: sgoldy@ci.reading.ma.us Constable Council on Aging / Mystic Valley Elder Services Board of Registrars Board of Assessors Reading Telecommunications & Technology Advisory Committee (T-TAC) Finance Committee Land Bank Committee School Department Selectman Richard Schubert email: rschubert@ci.reading.ma.us Board of Appeals Conservation Commission Housing Authority Reading Municipal Light Department 15 910.N-IN SHEET FOR..THE'BOARD OF S LECTMEN MEETING, DATE: ADDRESS (Please print) Lau ~w►V'Ae m4i"y USIA Q.L4(-'So f.. 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