Select Board Vice Chair Doug Thompson has proposed adding a provision to the Procedures, Policies and Regulations Manual to ensure non-standard expenses cannot be approved without board consent.
Following heated Select Board discussions about which expenses require joint approval and what authority the chair holds independently, Thompson proposed an addendum to limit approvals of expenditures over $1,000.
Chapter 7 of the Procedures, Policies and Regulations Manual outlines financial management policies. According to the most recent 2022 version of the manual, the Select Board “serves as the chief policy-making board, and by statute, as the chief executive officer of the town.”
“As such, the Select Board plays a major role in formulating financial policy,” the Procedures, Policies and Regulations Manual reads.
Chapter 7 states that while the town administrator’s office and staff manage day-to-day operations, the Select Board is responsible for setting broad financial policies, including decisions on school funding, debt authorization, and use of stabilization funds. The board is also tasked with developing a capital improvement plan, monitoring financial performance, and establishing budget guidelines and proposals.
Additionally, the Select Board holds authority over various financial matters outlined in the Town Charter and General By-Laws, including:
- Signing bonds or notes when the town issues debt
- Classifying property by use for taxation purposes
- Setting the town’s annual tax rate, including votes related thereto
- Setting the annual water and sewer rates
- Setting the rates of other fees
- Placing a proposed override, debt exclusion vote, or other general referendum on the ballot
Thompson proposed adding a single bullet point to the manual.
“Select Board shall not expend town funds without the town administrator’s authority and not without Select Board vote for any funds above $1,000,” Thompson said.
The proposed manual change stems from ongoing tensions over transparency, authority and communication among board members. The debate escalated in July when former Finance Director Amy Sarro received a bill from the Braintree-based law firm Murphy, Hesse, Toomey and Lehane.
Select Board Member Mary Ellen Fletcher had requested a second legal opinion from the firm regarding the Pine Street VFW Post property ahead of a special Town Meeting in March. At the July 8 and July 22 Select Board meetings, Member David Grishman accused Fletcher of attempting to “cover up” the legal expense and instructing town staff to pay the bill.
Fletcher called Grishman’s claims “absolutely false.”
“If there was no appropriation made by Town Meeting or signed agreement by the Town Administrator, this would not be a lawful expense for my office to pay. Unless there was an agreement that has not been filed with the accountant’s office,” Sarro had emailed Select Board Chair Katie Phelan and Vice Chair Doug Thompson on June 24. “We can discuss options but more likely this invoice would need to go before Town Meeting for authorization to pay.”
Thompson had replied to Sarro’s email, expressing concern about a “considerable legal expense that was not authorized by the Select Board but was unilaterally made by one member.”
On July 22, the Select Board narrowly voted 3-2 to approve the $8,470 legal bill. Select Board Chair Katie Phelan said that Sarro noted that Sarro had already earmarked funds to cover the payment.
Grishman said he wants to make sure this doesn’t happen again in the future.
“It was an $8,400 problem this time. I want to make sure it’s not a $20,000 next time or a $40,000 problem, or whatever,” Grishman said. “I want to make sure that this board all has the same information, that we’re all on an even playing field.”
At the September 3 meeting, Phelan reiterated the board’s intent to move forward.
“Conceptually, we all said we were trying to think of a way to make sure that this doesn’t happen going forward,” Phelan said. “I just think that the specifics matter.”
Phelan said the proposed edits will be circulated to Select Board members, and the next meeting will include an item to modify the manual.
