Weston Governance Committee Eyes Fall Town Meeting to Revive Select Board Expansion

WESTON — July 2, 2024 — Weston's Town Governance Study Committee heard from Town Counsel Lauren Goldberg Tuesday on the obstacles blocking a 2022 citizen's petition to expand the Select Board from three to five members. Goldberg told the committee that the petition filed with the state legislature by the original petitioner — not the Select Board — included language not approved at town meeting, and that with the General Court unlikely to act before its informal July 30 deadline, the most realistic path forward is a new warrant article at the fall 2024 Annual Town Meeting. Town Moderator Rip Hastings argued that any expansion should require a town-wide ballot vote, not just a town meeting vote, saying "town meeting does not represent everybody in town." Goldberg confirmed that a voter-acceptance provision must originate with the legislature, not the town, and offered to share model special legislation she drafted for Wenham's recent three-to-five expansion. The committee also reviewed a two-page standardized questionnaire drafted by members Michael Harrity, John Thompson, and Kara Fleming, to be distributed to town boards in advance of scheduled interviews on governance practices.