It was quite thrill to drive by the Greenfield Community Meetinghouse last week and see an excavator parked up front! After nearly five years of effort by the Friends of the Greenfield Community Meetinghouse and the Town of Greenfield, and with help from literally every volunteer group and organization in town, the renovations to the Meetinghouse are finally underway. 

Greenfield needs you in 2025

People who move to rural parts of New England from larger cities and suburbs, or from other parts of the country,  are sometimes surprised that small towns like Greenfield are still run by a volunteer select board. 

Having living in six states outside of New England (Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio, North Dakota, Maryland and Missouri), I can attest that New England is the oddball region of the country as far as government. Most of the country has strong county governments with more regional services, including country libraries, fire departments and school districts. New England is the only part if the country where small towns are still the primary governmental entity. 

Greenfield is fortunate to have an excellent town administrator and Town Hall staff who run the town day to day, but all town employees work for the volunteer Select Board. It is hard to think of another example of a government which is actually run by volunteers. In fact, when I Googled “what are some governments run by volunteers,” AI responded: “Governments don't run by volunteers, but volunteers do play a significant role in many governments, including local governments, federal agencies and civic associations.” I guess AI does not know about small New England towns!

Right now, every major town committee needs volunteers to run for office in 2025, including the Select Board, the Budget Advisory Committee, the Planning Board, trustees of the library, cemetery trustees and trustees of the trust funds. 

The Select Board sets policy for the town, hires town employees, sets the budget and tax rate, and does long-term planning.  

The role of the Budget Advisory Committee is to review the town budget and ensure it meets the needs of the town, as well as review warrant articles requesting an appropriation of money for a certain project or capital expense. 

The Planning Board reviews all new building, renovation and demolition projects in town. The Planning Board sets policy that is vital to the future of a town, and has a large impact on the potential for growth, with voters deciding changes to Planning Board policies. 

The Zoning Board of Appeals reviews and decides cases related to zoning ordinances and land use regulations. Every small town has different zoning laws, and they can be inconsistent. Zoning boards have a critical job sorting through zoning policies and keeping them up to date.

Every town in our state is struggling to get volunteers for town boards. Many people simply can’t volunteer at evening meetings due to work schedules, child care or other responsibilities. Many other people probably feel that coming home from work and having to head down to the Town Hall for a three-hour meeting is the last thing that want to do.

But here is the secret. I can honestly say, after covering every type of meeting in six different towns for the past 16 months – plus filling in occasionally at towns covered by other reporters – these meetings are rarely boring! I am proud to say that in Greenfield, meetings are generally very civil, and sometimes surprisingly entertaining. Every meeting has real impact on people’s lives, and every decision is made with people in mind. 

If you are new to town, if you would like to meet some great people, if you’d like to learn how our town actually runs, consider running for a Greenfield town committee or board. 

Candidates for town offices must be registered Greenfield voters. Candidates must file a declaration of candidacy form with the town clark between Jan. 22 and 31. For information, go to greenfield-nh.gov/town-clerk. 

If you have an idea for The Greenfield Beat, please send email to Jesseca Timmons at jtimmons@ledgertranscript.com.