Public Participation in Select Board Meetings

Town of Erving

Select Board Public Meeting Participation Guidance

The Select Board welcomes residents to communicate questions, comments or concerns. Participants at Select Board meetings are notified that the meetings are both video and audio recorded, and comments provided will become part of the record.  While offering public input, it is important that the Select Board is also allowed enough time to conduct their other business.  The following guidelines have been established to make the best use of time at Select Board meetings.

  1. To request time on the Select Board agenda, persons must contact the Town Administrator at (413) 422-2800, Ext.1102 or by completing the Select Board Agenda Request form, by noon on the Tuesday before the meeting. 
    1. Requests will be submitted to the Chairperson for consideration and scheduling. 
    2. Supporting documentation related to the request must be provided to the Administrator’s office by noon on the Thursday prior to the meeting.  The Chairperson may remove requested agenda topics that are made without supporting documentation.
  2. The Select Board encourages public participation as follows:
    1. Town residents can bring comments before the Select Board that require discussion and are on the agenda, only after being recognized by the Chair. If your issue is not on the agenda, you may bring it up under “Future agenda items”.
    2. “Topics not anticipated” should be brought to the Chair for possible consideration prior to the meeting.
    3. Please try to keep your comments short and to the point.
    4. If it appears that the topic(s) being discussed will consume longer than the time allocated then, at the discretion of the Chair, the matter will be placed on an upcoming Select Board meeting agenda.
    5. If you believe that your topic will require more time or desire to make a more formal presentation than is allowed under these guidelines, please contact the Town Administrator to ask to be put on a future agenda so that we can properly allocate enough time.
    6. You are free to ask questions or to make your point for all to consider. However, engaging in active debate with Select Board or audience members will not be allowed.
    7. All comments and questions must be directed to the Chair of the Select Board per MGL Chapter 30A, Section 20(g).
    8. Participants are expected to speak from the presenter/guest table.
  3. Employees and Board members who have business with the Select Board should be placed on the agenda beforehand (see Item # 1.).
  4. Anyone wishing to contact the Select Board in writing may do so at:
Town of Erving
Attn: Select Board
12 East Main Street, Erving, Massachusetts 01344
 

Alternatively, members of the public can complete a Select Board submission form at the meeting sign in table and office staff member will follow up.

The Select Board appreciates your cooperation in honoring these guidelines.

 

From Massachusetts Attorney General Official Website

What public participation in meetings must be allowed?

Under the Open Meeting Law, the public is permitted to attend meetings of public bodies but is excluded from an executive session that is called for a valid purpose listed in the law. Any member of the public also has a right to make an audio or video recording of an open session of a public meeting. A member of the public who wishes to record a meeting must first notify the Chair and must comply with reasonable requirements regarding audio or video equipment established by the chair so as not to interfere with the meeting. The Chair is required to inform other attendees of such recording at the beginning of the meeting.

While the public is permitted to attend an open meeting, an individual may not address the public body without permission of the Chair. An individual is not permitted to disrupt a meeting of a public body, and at the request of the Chair, all members of the public shall be silent. If after clear warning, a person continues to be disruptive, the Chair may order the person to leave the meeting, and if the person does not leave, the Chair may authorize a constable or other officer to remove the person.