The 2015 Annual Town Meeting has a petitioned warrant article asking for more transparency in local government. It’s likely to be dismissed, but WestfordCAT News is taking a look at what town committees meet the bar set by this petition if it did become a reality.
Per discussions on the petition, we looked at five criteria required by the petition as they appear right now on the town website, westfordma.gov
#1. – Does the committee have e-notifications as of March 27, 2015 (available at westfordma.gov/subscriber)
#2. Â – Does the committee have a dedicated page on the town website as of March 27, 2015?
#3. – Are past agendas available online in the Document Management System portion of the website as of March 27, 2015?
#4. – Are minutes of past meetings available online in the Document Management System as of March 27, 2015?
#5. – Are other documents related to the committees available in the document management system as of March 27, 2015?
We classified committees with five or fewer past agendas, sets of minutes or miscellaneous documents as a “limited yes” and noted committees that submit entire meeting packets in a separate portion of the DMS.
The list we looked at comes from the current set of town committees on the town website, and does not include other former committees not on that list.
The list also includes some town positions that are not actually “committees”, but we included them on the list as “other.”
In our overall tally, anything that was not a “no” or was not applicable was counted as a yes. We did not count the non-committees in the tally.
Total
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | 47 | 17 | 38 | 19 | 20 |
| Yes | 9 | 38 | 17 | 35 | 35 |
Elected Committees
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board of Selectmen | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (packets) |
| Board of Health | Yes – Multiple Notifications** | External Link(westfordlibrary.org) | Yes (limited) | Yes | Yes (packets) |
| Housing Authority | No | Yes | No | Yes (limited) | Yes (limited) |
| J.V. Fletcher Library Trustees | Technically* | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Planning Board | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| School Committee | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (packets) |
* – There is a notification for general library items, but not specifically the Trustees
** – The Board of Health has notifications for just the board as well as other Board related subjects.
Selectmen Appointed Committees
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affordable Housing Committee | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Affordable Housing Trust Committee | No | Yes | Yes (limited) | Yes | Yes |
| Agricultural Commission | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Arts and Technology Scholarship Committee | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Bylaw Review Committee | No | Yes (Second Level) | Yes (limited) | Yes | No |
| Communications Advisory Committee | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (limited) |
| Community Preservation Committee | No | Yes | Yes (limited) | Yes | Yes |
| Conservation Commission | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cultural Council | No | Yes | No | Yes (limited) | Yes (limited) |
| Economic Development Committee | No | Yes | Yes (limited) | Yes | Yes |
| Energy Committee | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Historical Commission | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pedestrian Safety Committee | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Permanent Town Building Committee | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Personnel Advisory Committee | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Public Works Initiative Committee | No | Yes | No | No | Yes (limited) |
| Registrars of Voters | No | No | No | Yes | Yes (limited) |
| Tax Possession Sale Committee | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Town Center Parking and Traffic Study Committee | No | No | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Zoning Board of Appeals | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Selectmen Polices and Procedures Subcommittee | No | No | No | No | No |
Appointed by Planning Board or Moderator
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master Plan Implementation Committee | No | Yes (Second Level) | No | Yes (limited) | Yes (limited) |
| Finance Committee | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (packets) |
Appointed by Town Manager
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 North Main Street Task Force | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (limited) |
| Board of Assessors | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Board of Cemetary Commissioners | No | Yes | No | No | Yes (limited) |
| Board of Water Commissioners | No | Yes | Yes (limited) | Yes | Yes |
| Capital Planning Committee | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (limited) |
| Council on Aging | No | Yes | Yes (limited) | Yes | Yes |
| Roudenbush Designer Selection Committee | No | No | No | No | No |
| Emergency Management Committee | No | No | No | No | No |
| Parkerville Schoolhouse Committee | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (limited) |
| Parks and Recreation Commission | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Records and Archives Committee | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Recycling Commission | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes (limited) |
| Town Forest Committee | No | No | No | No | No |
| Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled (T.R.E.A.D) Committee | No | No | No | No | No |
Discontinued/Completed/Empty
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Gardens Task Force | No | No | No | No | No |
| Hunting Policy Committee | No | Yes | Yes (limited) | Yes | Yes |
| Regional Recreational Trail Committee | No | No | No | No | No |
| Senior Citizen Tax Relief Committee | No | No | No | No | No |
| Stepinski Land Acquisition Negotiating Committee | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Policies and Procedural Manual Subcommittee | No | No | No | No | No |
| Town Farm Property Task Force | No | No | No | No | No |
| Land Use Priorities Committee | No | No | No | No | No |
Other
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constable | No | No | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Election Officers | No | No | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Fence Viewers | No | No | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Town Moderator | No | Yes | N/A | N/A | Yes (limited) |
| Veterans Agent | No | Yes, in Town Departments | N/A | N/A | N/A |
