Holliston Governance Committee: Update #5

Other Town Study Reports on Select Board Size

The Holliston Governance Committee is in the process of studying whether Holliston should continue with its current Select Board of three elected members or change to a Select Board of five elected members.

The Governance Committee has and will continue to review the work of Government Study Committees in other towns in Massachusetts to learn from the scope of their research approach. The focus of this Update is the committee make-up and the time requirement to complete the work in the four towns of Belmont, Duxbury, Milton, and Wenham. The time devoted to researching and preparing reports averaged 15 months and ranged from six months to over two years for the four towns. A town study committee averaged nine (9) members.

Belmont

In Belmont (2020 pop. 27,295), the Committee to Study the Number of Selectmen consisted of 13 members which started its work in June 2017 and issued its report in January 2018. The Committee recommended increasing the Board to five members, but its recommendation was not adopted at Town Meeting. The Belmont Final Report can be read HERE.

Duxbury

In Duxbury (2020 pop. 10,090) the Government Study Committee consisted of nine members who first met in June 2015 and issued its report in March 2018. The Committee voted to maintain the Select Board at three members. However, the Select Board increased to five members by vote of Town Meeting in 2021. The Duxbury Final Report can be read HERE.

Milton

In Milton (2020 pop. 28,630) the Town Government Study Committee consisted of nine members who spent over a year studying the issue of Select Board size and recommended the Select Board be increased to five members and that the position of Town Administrator be strengthened. The Board now consists of five members. The two goals of the Committee were to shift more of the day-to-day management duties to the Town Administrator so that the Select Board could focus on policy development and strategic planning.

Wenham

In Wenham (2020 pop. 4,979) the Town Government Study Committee started in February 2021 and created a 3-to-5 Subcommittee of seven members. The Subcommittee worked for eleven months and voted to increase the Board to five members. The recommendation was adopted at the Annual Town Meeting on April 2, 2022. The Wenham Final Report can be read HERE.

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