Here is a selection of committee and department meetings for the week. Be aware that changes to the meeting schedule are known to happen throughout the week. For a complete list of meetings, visit the town website.
All these meetings are open to the public, so you’re welcome to stop on by. Don’t know where the meeting room is? Give a shout in the comments and I’ll do my best to help.
Monday, July 23
- No meetings scheduled
Tuesday, July 24
- Cable Television Committee, 5:00 pm @ Cable Television Office, Fayville Village Hall (agenda)
- Library Board of Trustees, 6:00 pm @ Southborough Public Library (agenda)
- Town Administrator Screening Committee, 6:30 pm @ Trottier Middle School Library (agenda)
Wednesday, July 25
- Town Administrator Screening Committee, 8:00 am @ Southborough Pubic Library (agenda)
- Town Administrator Screening Committee, 7:00 pm @ Trottier Middle School Library (agenda)
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 7:30 pm @ Hearing Room, Town House (agenda)
Thursday, July 26
- Conservation Commission, 7:30 pm @ Hearing Room, Town House (agenda)
Friday, July 27
- No meetings scheduled
There are three meetings of the Town Administrator Screening Committee and all of them are going directly into executive session and not returning to open session. That does not sound to me like an open meeting or that all are welcome to attend. Are all the meetings of this committee going to be closed to the public?
Hello “Resident” –
Since it was formed in May the Town Administrator Screening Committee has had several open meetings – to elect a Chair and Vice Chair, to review the updated job description from the Selectmen, to draft and post a job solicitation, to discuss its process for screening TA candidates, etc., etc. (indeed, at least two of these meetings were attended and reported on by the local beat reporter for the Metro West Daily News). I’ll also note, for what it’s worth, that the Committee’s work is proceeding well ahead of schedule, with the presentation of a list of finalists to the Selectmen likely to come over a month sooner than originally requested/expected.
As to our meetings this week, the Committee is now at the point where it is conducting live screening interviews with actual candidates. Conducting this phase of the process in executive session is not only prudent for attracting the best candidates, it is also directly permitted by the Attorney General’s guidance on the use of executive session for this purpose (it is #8 out of the AG’s 10 approved uses of executive session). Even more to your point, I personally have been a vocal opponent of the clearly casual overuse of executive session in Southborough government in the past, but some occasions clearly call for it. This is one.
Rest assured that when the Committee’s work is complete and a list of finalists is chosen for presentation to the Board of Selectmen, all further interviews and deliberations will be in that body’s open session.
Thank you very much for your response, Paul. That is all good information. Certainly, if the committee is up to the interview point, private session is needed. I guess I was assuming that it was too early for that. Good news that the committee is ahead of schedule.