Voters at the polls in March will decide whether to keep New Ipswich’s governance as a three-person Select Board or to increase the board to five seats.
The article is on this year’s warrant, submitted by petition, and will be decided by voters at the ballot box on March 10. On Tuesday, the Select Board held a public hearing on the issue, as required by law.
Chair Jason Somero started the hearing by reading a list of potential pros and cons on the expansion idea generated by Town Administrator Debbie Deaton.
Among the pros, Somero said, was that a larger board created an easier quorum for meetings and would eliminate the possibility of a quorum when two board members met outside of official board meetings. Having five members also increases the chance for more diverse perspectives.
The other potential benefit is spreading the workload shouldered by board members.
Among the cons that Somero listed would be difficulty finding candidates, the potential for factions or cliques to form, slower decision making, and the potential for increased costs or administrative work.
The board was of split opinion on the issue, with Selectmen Lou Alvarez and Shawn Talbot voicing support for the possibility of a five-person board, with Somero more reticent.
Alvarez said that while he did not draft or sign the petition warrant to increase the board, it was originally his suggestion and he still supported the concept.
“I was for it from the very beginning and still am,” Alvarez said. He said the Select Board is typically made up of working individuals, and that there have been several instances of a member not being able to attend a meeting, which leaves the town in a position where the remaining two members must unanimously agree to get anything done.
He also said he liked the potential for greater diversity of perspectives, saying that five people “may have as much as five different thoughts on any type of article.”
Somero spoke of the duties of the Select Board, saying when he first ran he was told “it can be as much work as you let it be.” In addition to the board’s weekly meetings, the board also makes employee decisions, participates in community events, deals with town property, and holds liaison positions with other town boards. Sometimes, board members spearhead special projects, such as the renovation of the police department.
Talbot said there are things he’d like to see the board take on that aren’t feasible because of the time demands. He suggested greater engagement with the school district as one possibility. Another, he said, was the ability to have “1,000-foot” conversations about things like the town’s land and property resources, or the possibility of forming a formal commercial district, something he said has been floating as a conversation since at least the 1970s, but never has been enacted.
Talbot said sometimes those conversations require someone to lead the charge.
“Two more bodies is huge,” Talbot said of shouldering the workload of the board.
Somero said there was a flip side to the conversation, and said that he is wary of growing governance. He said he also had concerns that a larger board would increase the amount of administrative work put on the town administrator.
The issue will be on the March 10 warrant at Mascenic Regional High School from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.