Town Needs 'Solid, Workable' Definitions of Selectmen & Town Manager Roles

Selectman Chairman Jack Petropoulos came before the Charter Review Committee to explain why he believes the Charter's definitions of the roles and responsibilities of Selectmen and Town Manager 'don't work,' have 'proven not to be correct' and need to be changed.

Even though the Charter says Selectmen are responsible for making 'policy' while the Town Manager handles 'day-to-day' decisions, Chairman Petropoulos said 'nothing could be further from the truth,' explaining that the Town Manager regularly sets policy, policy such as behavior of the public at town hall; policy on harassment; and policy on exit interviews. Petropoulos said Selectmen had allowed the Town Manager to set these policies even though they Charter says they should not.

Selectmen also sometimes involve themselves in day-to-day decisions, such as proscribing videos to support a warrant article at town meeting, actions that would clearly be considered 'day-to-day,' he said.

Saying that his purpose was not to re-litigate past actions and decisions, but rather to encourage the Charter Review Committee to develop, "good, solid workable definitions of the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager." He added that it was not an easy problem to resolve but said, "My only point is that the current definitions don't work and they are used to bolster whatever opinion a person is trying to support."