Opinion: Vote Yes For Expansion Of Wenham Board Of Selectmen

The following was submitted as a letter to the editor by Rick Woodland about increasing the size of the Wenham Board of Selectmen from three to five. If you would like to write a letter to the editor email samantha.mercado@patch.com.

I would like to remind residents of Wenham there is a Special Town Meeting on Saturday October 17th. It’s vital for our democratic process for the meeting to be attended by as many town people as possible.

Several of the Warrant articles are leftover from the Annual Town Meeting which was abbreviated due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We pick up on Saturday to discuss needed capital expenditures and other matters, some routine, others not. There are also two “Citizen’s Petitions” to be discussed.

“Citizen’s Petition 1” on the Town Warrant, which will be discussed and voted on this Saturday was brought forth by a large group of residents who are focused on improving the democracy process within our Town, and I believe this is something we should pay attention to. The Peon asks the board of Selectmen to consider expanding its size from three to five seats.

Why Five? Why is it important to increase the size of our Board of Selectmen?

● The Workload is way too big for just three people. During a Selectmen’s meeting in October, even the Selectmen themselves commented that the workload for their positions is too big. Increasing to five members would allow the Selectmen to spread the workload out further.
● Wider representation. Moving to five members would allow for a more diverse group of Select people.
● Ability to create working groups of Select people. Under current state laws it’s illegal for two members to discuss or to collaborate on projects outside of posted Open Meetings. Moving to five would allow for working groups and more out of meeting collaboratively.
● Wenham is not too small to make this change! 25% of towns our size or smaller have a five member Select boards, this includes our neighbor Manchester-by-the-Sea.
● We have an active community with eager volunteers. It is not difficult to find residents who are keen to volunteer to take on elected roles. But when the workload is discussed, volunteers are reluctant to commit.

This is just the beginning of the discussion. Special Town Meeting is an open forum to hear what a more inclusive, beer Wenham could look like. It’s a chance for the Selectmen to hear a wide range of viewpoints in hopes they will champion the cause.

Please attend the Special Town Meeting: Saturday October 17, at 10:00 A.M. under the tent in Pingree Park. Hope to see many of my Wenham neighbors there.
Rick Woodland