This special meeting of the Weathersfield Select Board covered a wide range of topics including public comments on town operations, routine approvals of liquor licenses and errors and omissions, a detailed police department update, a school district consolidation update, and the primary focus: the town manager search process led by consultant Gary Evans. The board set a salary range of $90,000–$105,000 for the new town manager and outlined a timeline aiming for a start date by January 1, 2027.
The Welcome to the August 31st 2026 Select Board meeting. If you would uh come and join me for the uh Pledge of Allegiance, actually, before we start, I'd like to remind everybody because I've been again seeing comments. I'd like to remind everyone that the state of Vermont is uh specifically does not require uh the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. It is a personal prerogative. Um that may irk some of you, but it is in fact the law. And so I I hope that conversation uh dies down. Anyway, the evening. Zach, would you like to leave it to me? Sure. I pledge allegiance to the five of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. So our first item is the agenda review. Uh does anyone have any additions or changes to the order of the agenda? Um, Ms. Chair? Yes. I just noticed on here, and I think it's more of a clerical thing uh that this is listed as a regular meeting. However, our regular meetings are the second and fourth Monday of the month, and this is our special. So just uh note that this is a special meeting of the select board, not a regular meeting. Thank you very much. Good. And then I also notice that underneath the minutes we're missing August 4th. Okay. Well, we'll get to that when we get to minutes. Um back to agenda review. Uh does anyone have any additions or changes to the sequence? Uh if not, then we'll accept the I guess we just uh can accept the agenda as it is. Um let's open the floor for comments from the select board and members of the public on topics not on tonight's agendas. Would members of the select board like to go first? I know there was a budget that was going to be discussed, but I learned that it's going to be pushed to the 14th, so the award in that budget conversation on the 14th. Yes. Yes, indeed. Anybody else have anything? Umce we have two new members on the select board. This seems like the appropriate time to review our town policy on conduct of meetings and hearings. Um I'm not sure whether our town policies have been posted on the website yet. I know that's uh certainly on if it's not there already, it is planned that they will be up there. But uh because it's not on the agenda for this meeting, uh we won't get any into any discussion about it, but I would like to remember remind both board members and residents of a few points this evening. Um so I'm gonna read a few particular key points from our policy manual before uh before we actually leap into the uh the meat of the evening here. So, and this is please understand this is no criticism of anybody, this is just sort of making sure we're all on the same page. So this is section 3 uh G of our town policy for conduct of meetings and hearings. No party representative of a party witness or speaker shall be permitted to make personal attacks on another speaker, a member of the board, or any person whatsoever. No person shall be permitted to interrogate another speaker or any person present at the hearing without permission of the board given in advance of any such question. Uh item uh I of the same section says the presiding officer at any hearing may make such rulings or orders or give such instructions as may be necessary to preserve the order, decorum, and dignity of the proceedings. This authority shall include the power to exclude from the meeting or expel any person or group or person who is at who uh who is or are attempting to disrupt the proceedings or who we refuse to abide by and carry out the lawful instructions of the presiding officers. Um I also discovered that uh the Vermont uh League of Cities and Towns has a um like a draft uh or model pledge of uh conduct and they'll just read it to you. It's again, it's not something we're gonna discuss tonight. It's not on the agenda, but I'm hoping to get this into the board's packet for our next meeting so that we can discuss that. The pledge reads, as a member of the Weathersfield, I'm inserting Weathersfield uh select board, I pledge to act fairly, objectively, and in the public interest in all matters that come before the board. To treat my fellow selectors and all who come before us with kindness, respect, and dignity, even when we disagree, to manage my conflicts of interest according to our governing policy, to preserve public confidence in the select board's decisions and actions.