This special select board meeting, called to order at 6:15 PM on July 28, 2026 (transcript dated July 29), focused on two primary agenda items: a discussion with Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) leadership regarding the potential closure of the birthing center, and a subsequent board discussion about possible municipal action, including a tax increase. The meeting also included public comment about a recent unwarned select board meeting concerning the Charter Revision Commission's schedule for a charter vote.
Welcome all. We're gonna call the special select board meeting of July 28th to order. 6.15 p.m. There was no executive session today. And uh board, any adjustments to the agenda? Seeing none. I'm gonna open public comment for the meeting. And as a reminder, if you're in the room, please just raise your hand and I'll call on you. If you're on Zoom, use the raise hand thing, and Seth will bring you to my attention. And when I recognize you, please come up to the microphone, state your name, and make your comment. And any comments you make today should be about items not otherwise on the agenda. So if you have comments about the two birthing center items, please hold them until regular business. So uh any members of the public with a comment or question. Yes, Tom. And then Dick. Tom Frank Sprotleboro. Members of the Select Board. At the July 23rd meeting of the Charter Revision Commission, the Chair of the Commission informed the members and public present that it was not humanly possible to hold the vote on their charter proposal at the November general election, as had been their expressed intent since June of last year. Their chair explained that this conclusion and a decision to hold the vote on charter changes in March of 2027 was reached in a meeting with the full select board, the town clerk, the town manager, the town attorney, and two members of the commission. The chair also reported that they had been in conversation with the town clerk for the about the schedule for the vote for approximately two weeks. The chair of the CRC also noted that the select board's decision to hold this meeting on July 28th, this particular meeting preempted the Commission's meeting at which they intended to finalize their proposals. This makes it impossible for the Commission to meet its proposed schedule for a town wide vote in November, according to the Chair. The July 23rd meeting of the Select Board was not warned, was not open to the public, was not recorded, and there are no published minutes. A member of the public was told that this was because it was a scheduled meeting and thus exempt from Vermont's open meeting law. It is appalling that a decision of this consequence was made in a rushed secret meeting. The schedule for the general election and the proposed schedule for the charter change have long been a matter of public record. There is sufficient time to warrant a special meeting to address this issue, just as the select board did for this meeting tonight. This decision to schedule a town wide vote is not a minor scheduling change. It is a matter of great importance to the town. By shifting the vote from the November general election to the town meeting day, the number of people likely to vote has been slashed from an average of roughly 5100 voters in the midterms to 2100 on town meeting day. This is effectively voter suppression. The on-warn meeting on July 23rd, the unwarned July 23rd Select Board meeting was not consistent with the intent or even the letter of Vermont's opening meeting law. The statutes are explicit as to the permissible exemptions from the public meeting requirements. One exemption does relate to scheduling a meeting. However, meeting is defined as a gathering of a quorum of the members of a public body and nothing else. The statutes explicitly limit the scope of these exemptions. In one it states that uh it shall be exempt, provided that the public body does not discuss specific business of the public body. That at the time of the exchange, the participating members expect to be the business of the public body. This exemption clearly does not apply to a town wide vote. This is the select board's business. There is no credible argument that the select board didn't know this would be a matter for public meeting, considering the involvement of town staff, legal team, and other members with the CRC over the last two years. There is still time to have the vote in November. It may not be easy, but it is possible according to statutes. Please tell us all what you plan to do about this abuse of power. Thank you. Thanks, Tom. That's a great question. I'll speak briefly about it, and then if town attorney has any comment, that's useful too. Yes. I just wonder, may I get some more chairs?