It is the intent that all Town boards, committees, commissions, councils, et al., have the maximum number of members and alternates, if appropriate and where alternates are authorized by law, as specified in the origination charge or bylaw. The maximum number of members shall be an odd number.
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Southampton as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 12-5-2023 STM by Art. 18]
Should an existing group, which was originally established with an even number of members and where such number is not set by bylaw, consistently not be able to conduct necessary business due to tie votes, the group may petition the Select Board, or the Select Board may so decide, to increase or decrease the official membership of the group by one. In this case, the vote by the Select Board would supersede any previous stipulation of the official number of members of the group.
Individuals may request to join a particular appointed group by submitting an application form to the Select Board via the Town Administrator. New applicants as well as applicants seeking reappointment shall submit, in addition to the application form, a resume or cover letter detailing their background and experience. All application forms received by the Select Board/Town Administrator will also be forwarded to the Chair of the group to which the individual is making application. The form, Application to Serve on a Town Board or Committee, may be found at Town Hall or on the Town’s webpage (https://www.townofsouthampton.org). It is strongly recommended that potential applicants attend at least one meeting of the group before submitting an application.
The Select Board shall evaluate the qualifications of all new applicants in light of the needs of the group. In considering new applicants and reappointment applicants, members of the group to which the individual applied may provide an endorsement of the applicant to the Select Board. Based on its review, the Select Board may vote to appoint the applicant with or without a recommendation from the group in question. Reappointments will be considered along with new applicants for a position.
For appointed and elected positions, the Town Clerk will maintain the list of term expiration dates and resignations.
For elected committee/board positions, should a vacancy exist, the Select Board will appoint a qualified individual to fill the position, as per MGL, until the next Town election.
Once the Select Board appoints an individual, the Town Administrator’s Office sends a notice to the individual advising them of their appointment. A copy of the certificate of appointment will be forwarded to the Town Clerk’s Office. Individuals must formally accept the appointment and be sworn in by the Town Clerk prior to voting at any meeting.
[Adopted 12-5-2023 STM by Art. 19]
The regulations in this article pertain to all committees/boards/commissions/councils (aka groups), both elected and appointed, except as otherwise stipulated by law.
A.
Within the first month of the fiscal year for appointed committees, and within the first month after the Town election for elected committees, each group shall elect a Chair, Vice Chair, and Clerk. The newly elected Chair shall immediately communicate the results of these appointments to the Town Clerk and the Town Administrator. Positions of Chair and Vice Chair must be served by two different individuals.
B.
Normally, the responsibilities of the officers of a group are as follows; however, a group may reassign responsibilities as it sees fit as long as all responsibilities are covered, providing this action does not conflict with state laws and regulations:
(1)
The Chair is responsible for managing the group’s meeting schedule, documents, and communications, including monitoring the group’s common email, recommending updates to the webpage as necessary, and maintaining ongoing communication with the Select Board. The Chair is responsible for ensuring that meeting schedules are posted on the Town website along with official documents and useful information for future reference. The Vice Chair shall collect and submit to the Town Clerk and Town Administrator up-to-date contact information (address, phone, email) for each member. This information shall not be shared with the general public without an individual’s permission; it is solely for official use. It is the Chair’s responsibility to notify the Town Clerk of any changes to membership. The Vice Chair acts in the absence of the Chair.
(2)
The meeting time, agenda, and approved minutes for each meeting must be posted on a Town-designated site (mytown.gov) according to the time frame stipulated in the Open Meeting Law.
(3)
It shall be the duty of the Committee Clerk to draft the minutes of each meeting for approval by the membership. Meeting minutes must be approved by a quorum and posted on the Town website within three subsequent meetings at which the minutes were approved. If the Committee Clerk is unable to post the minutes, the Town Clerk will ensure that the minutes are posted on the Town website within the requisite time frame.
(4)
The group shall make a concerted effort to assist in recruiting qualified applicants to fill appointed and elected vacancies.
All members of a group are responsible for obeying the Open Meeting Law regulations and adhering to the requirements of the State Ethics Commission. The Town Clerk will advise appointed and elected officials of these requirements and provide a link to the State Ethics Commission training/testing resource. Each member shall provide documentation to the Town Clerk as proof that they successfully completed the online state ethics training program within 30 days of being elected or appointed. The Town Clerk shall notify the appropriate Chair of any violations, in a timely manner.
All individuals must be sworn in by the Town Clerk, as newly elected or appointed members, prior to being eligible to vote at the group’s meetings.
A quorum for conducting business shall be a simple majority of the members of the group as constituted in the charge, unless another percentage is required by law; however, a quorum shall not be less than two. Motions are passed, unless otherwise noted, by majority vote providing a quorum is present.
Membership should notify the Chair of intended absence(s). If a member of an appointed group is absent for more than half of the group’s regularly scheduled meetings over a six-month period, and/or does not participate in the group’s work for over a six-month period, said member may be removed from the group by majority vote. Upon removal, the individual may appeal the decision to the Select Board.
With approval by majority vote, a member may request a leave of absence, in writing, from a group for no longer than two months, provided that the membership would remain at greater than 50% of maximum membership for the group. If the latter is not the case, the leave of absence may not be granted and the individual must either remain or resign to ensure a quorum.
It is the responsibility of the Chair to acknowledge receipt of resident inquiries by mail, email, or phone within 10 business days of having received the communication. That acknowledgement will inform the resident that a response to their inquiry will be provided after the group has had an opportunity to meet and discuss their concern/issues.
For groups whose policies, procedures and past practices are not included in the Town’s Bylaws and are not determined by statute, creation of, or changes to those procedures must be approved by the Select Board.
Individuals must disclose to the Select Board and to the group any conflict of interest present at the time of their appointment or that may arise during their tenure on the committee or group. These individuals must also file a Conflict-of-Interest Disclosure Form (G.L. c. 268A, § 23(b)(3)) with the Town Clerk. Based on the specific circumstances of the conflict of interest, further consultation with the State Ethics Commission may be necessary at requestadvice@massmail.state.ma.us. Any written opinions not issued as confidential received from the State Ethics Commission should also be filed with the Town Clerk.
All resignations must be written, signed and submitted to the Town Clerk and the Chair of the relevant public body in a timely manner. All vacancies should be posted within 30 business days of receipt of the resignation by the committee/board. A description of the group’s function/purpose and the requisite time commitment shall be listed in the Volunteer Section of the Town website. Filling vacant positions is a shared responsibility of group members and the Select Board to recruit qualified candidates.
The Select Board shall appoint all replacements for vacant positions, elected or appointed, with terms extending until the next Town election or the completion of the term of the appointed position, whichever is applicable as per MGL.
All members of elected or appointed boards, commissions, committees, councils or groups shall serve without compensation.
Records are maintained according to requirements under Massachusetts Public Records Law.
The Select Board may vote to remove some or all members of an appointed group for cause. The Select Board’s consideration of such an action may be initiated by the Select Board.