Introducing the Holliston Governance Committee

Holliston Reporter

From Samuel R. Tyler

Holliston’s newly created Governance Committee is comprised of five members with various professional backgrounds and different levels of past involvement in Holliston government. Our charge is to assist in the development of town-wide policies that relate to governance and to recommend changes to the Town’s form of government if needed. 

We have a web page in the Town of Holliston’s Website in the Boards and Committees section.  We will add materials to the documents section of the web page as our work progresses. https://www.townofholliston.us/governance

Meetings will, of course, be public and noted in the town calendar.   

Holliston Governance Committee Members

While establishing the Governance Committee, the Select Board invited interested residents to volunteer to serve on the Committee.  Each member submitted their name to be considered and were appointed individually by the Select Board.

Len Engel – Director of Policy and Campaigns, Crime and Justice Institute, a national organization in Boston that works with local, state and national criminal justice organizations to improve public safety and the delivery of justice.  He has served on the Holliston Planning Board and the Community Preservation Committee.

Paul LeBeau – Holliston’s first Town Administrator who served in that position for 21 years.  He previously served as Administrative Assistant and then Executive Secretary in Holliston for a combined 11 years, for a total of 32 years in Holliston.  Prior to coming to Holliston, he served as Administrative Assistant to the Board of Selectmen in the Town of Sherborn.

Christina Lingham Executive Director, Conferences and Fellow at Cambridge Healthtech Institute, the leading life science network for experts from top pharmaceutical, biotech and academic organizations. Recently, she became involved in the traffic problems in her neighborhood of Mudville.           

Scott McKechnie – Senior Vice President at Citibank in Boston.  He has served on the Holliston Finance Committee and recently on the Town Administrator Search Committee.

Sam Tyler -Former President of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau for 36 years, having worked at the Bureau for 46 years.  In Holliston, he has served on the Finance Committee and was Chair of the Community Preservation Committee for its first 11 years.  He also served as Chair of theGovernment Study Committees in 1987 and 1994.

Holliston Governance Committee Overview

The Governance Committee was established by the Select Board at its meeting on March 3, 2020 to assist in the development of town-wide policies that relate to governance and recommend changes to the form of government if needed.  The Select Board invited interested residents to volunteer to serve on this five-person Committee.  Each member submitted his/her name to be considered and was appointed individually by the Select Board.  Appointments to the Committee were completed on June 17, 2020.  The Committee consists of five residents with diverse professional backgrounds and prior experience in Holliston government.  The Town Administrator will act as an advisor to this Committee.

The last comprehensive review of the Holliston General By-Laws occurred over thirty-five years ago and the last Government Study Committee report was issued in 1994.  The Governance Committee is reviewing the By-Laws dealing with government operations with the intent of recommending greater efficiencies and more updated management practices.  Charters and By-Laws of comparable towns in Massachusetts are being reviewed to identify best practices that could be applied to Holliston.  This comparative data will allow the Committee to identify strengths and weaknesses in Holliston’s current form of government and areas where improvements may be achieved.  State laws enabling new approaches for improved municipal management are being studied and resources at the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, the Massachusetts Municipal Association and local university institutes or centers are being contacted for suggestions.

The Committee’s examination of town government will be an open and transparent process through our public committee meetings and public meetings with town officials, boards, committees and commissions.  Public hearings will be scheduled to explain our role and hear from residents regarding their views of town government and suggestions for improvement.  Recommendations from the Committee will be publicized and presented at Town Meetings for discussion and adoption.   Residents are able to contact the Governance Committee members via e-mail by clicking on the member’s name on the Committee webpage.

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