In a blatant display of the dangers inherent in concentrating power in the executive, the Select Board has not only eliminated even limited hybrid town meetings for both the May and June sessions of Town Meeting but has provided misleading information, insulted Town Meeting Members (TMMs) and silenced one of its members.
This latest incident in what appears to be a developing pattern began on Friday, April 5 and culminated on Monday April 8. Here’s what we know.
The Events – Phase 1
The Friday, April 5 early morning Select Board meeting was a customary first meeting following town elections; during it, the new Board constitutes itself and begins work. Because the previous Select Board consisting of Roy Epstein, Elizabeth Dionne and Mark Paolillo had agreed that it would make sense to have the Chair operate through the Spring 2024 Town Meeting, Roy Epstein and Elizabeth Dionne remained the Chair and Vice-Chair respectively.
Mike Widmer, the re-elected Moderator recommended that Town Meeting be conducted with a limited hybrid option. In his view, TMMs attending remotely should not exceed 15% of the total number of TMMs at any session; the 30 – 34% of TMMs who had attended the three town meeting sessions that comprised the Fall 2023 Town Meeting remotely were too great a number. Nonetheless, he supported the option for people who need it, something that Town Clerk Ellen Cushman felt could be done.
To make a long story relatively short, Chair Epstein opposed having any remote option since “Covid is over;” he felt that space in the balcony was all that should be provided for those who might have reasons to stay apart and that convenience ought not to be a factor in deciding whether or not to provide remote access. Vice-Chair Dionne who began by saying she had been undecided, opted for no remote option, at least in part, because she felt remote attendees do not pay adequate
attention. Matt Taylor, the newly elected Board member was in favor of adopting the Widmer approach and pointed out that as a result of Covid, business is conducted differently than it used to be and that all big corporations have remote options.
When the vote was taken, Epstein and Dionne voted in favor of in person only. In his first Select Board vote, Taylor voted against.
The Events ― Phase 2
As might be expected, the in person only vote engendered letters/emails. On Monday, April 8, Paul Roberts, a Precinct 8 TMM sent an email outlining the advantages of hybrid meetings to all Town Meeting members; he urged them to voice support for hybrid sessions at the Monday night Select Board meeting. Elizabeth Dionne then emailed saying that there was too much work that needed to be done by the town’s administration to add to it by having remote Town Meeting sessions; she listed items she wants the administration to address.
At the Monday evening Select Board meeting, the matter was brought up during the limited period in which citizens are allowed to speak; speakers were allotted two minutes and told that no more than 15 minutes would be given to this matter. Paul Roberts made a compelling statement in favor of reconsidering the original decision.
Chair Epstein noted that state law rather than the town’s by-laws determine how Town Meetings are conducted. He reiterated his opposition to remote meetings and listed other towns that are having in person only meetings. And he stated that the Board of Health which had met Monday afternoon, had not felt it necessary to impose additional restrictions. He was against reconsideration.
Vice Chair Dionne repeated the tasks she has already given or will be giving to the town administration to accomplish and said that perhaps she would consider remote attendance in the fall. She too was against reconsideration.
Mr. Taylor did not get to speak. Why? Because in Chair Epstein’s opinion, since a motion to reconsider must be made by someone who originally was in favor and Mr. Taylor had opposed it, there was no reason for Mr. Taylor to speak.
And with that, the Chair moved on without recognizing anyone who might have had follow-up questions.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
- It is customary for the Moderator to recommend an approach for the Spring and Fall Town Meetings to the Select Board. It is also customary for the Select Board to accept his recommendation. That did not happen here.
- Mr. Epstein’s suggestion that most towns are returning to in person meetings is misleading. A Google search indicates that both hybrid and in-person Town Meetings are being held in
- Massachusetts this year. Among the municipalities holding hybrid meetings are Lexington, Dedham, Wayland, Plymouth, and Medfield; Northborough intends to adopt hybrid meetings as soon as it has acquired the necessary technology.
- The Board of Health felt that as long as the town had safe sections in which people could sit, it was not required to take an active part in decision making about Town Meeting. In other words, the Board of Health took a passive role rather than the more active effort Chair Epstein’s remarks appear to suggest.
- No actual research has been done into the reasons why people decided to attend remotely or into the reasons why the number grew for each night of the November Town Meeting. Some number of fully vaccinated/boosted people can be assumed to have health issues that make attending large meetings in enclosed spaces problematic. Some may well have found this to be more convenient. And, on the third night when the number of remote attendees was highest, some may have stayed away because they had to compete for parking with a high school sports event that made attendance even more difficult than it had been on other nights. Unlike the old high school, the new high school does not have sufficient parking to accommodate all TMMs much less TMMs and a high school sports event. Indeed, people could be seen arriving late because they had such a hard time finding a parking place.
- Even so, it is Ms. Dionne’s actions that are the most bewildering. Why? Because on Friday morning, she gave one set of reasons for opposing remote sessions emphasizing her belief that TMMs do not pay adequate attention when they attend virtually, and on Monday, she changed what she had to say completely. Perhaps Ms. Dionne changed her approach because she realized how offensive her comments were to the many TMMs who prepare and pay attention whether they attend in person or virtually. In any case, the tasks Ms. Dionne presented in her Monday email to TMMs and reiterated verbally that evening, suggested a well formulated plan that in her view necessitates superseding the needs of Town Meeting. Had that plan really existed on Friday, surely she would have referred to it then.
- And finally, while technically, Mr. Epstein may be correct about the way a vote to reconsider is handled, he used that to keep Mr. Taylor from speaking. Whether or not one supported or agrees with Matt Taylor, he is a duly elected member of Belmont’s Select Board and it is unacceptable to silence him.
Overstepping Boundaries
No Select Board members in this writer’s memory have assessed TMMs and the caliber of their performance as negatively as has happened here. Indeed, the comments of the Chair and Vice Chair of this Board smack of arrogance and their actions are, at best, high-handed.
Moreover, no Select Board has found a way to keep any of its members from speaking since Anne Paulsen was the sole reform member of a reactionary board. Anne Paulsen and Will Brownsberger who followed her in the role of sole reform member, worked hard to eliminate this.
The behavior of the current Board appears have begun with and to be the result of empowering the Select Board by centralizing town offices and functions under it and the Town Administrator. Given this, it is fair to say that Belmont’s acceptance of the Collins Report recommendations has had unintended and unfortunate consequences. Belmont needs to refuse to expand the power of the executive even further.
The most important job Select Board members have is to represent all of Belmont’s citizens. Members have an obligation to not overstep. They have an obligation to make sure that they do not diminish Town Meeting as well as an obligation to treat Belmont’s legislature as the equal it is supposed to be.
By-passing Town Meeting for any reason, including those cited by Ms. Dionne, are neither acceptable nor good governance. Clearly, those who were worried about giving too much power to the Select Board and the Town Administrator had good reason to be concerned.
About the author: Judith Feinleib, a Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member has a doctorate in Political Science and, as an independent consultant, helps people with social media posting, writing and in-house and external corporate communications. Contact her at feinleib@gmail.com. Her If I May articles can be found on Facebook at or on the If I May website.