Ashland to consider reducing number of selectmen

ASHLAND — The town’s 2019 warrant has articles that would give residents the option of reducing the size of the Board of Selectmen, funding a $1.8 million road reconstruction project and changing to a town manager form of government.

These articles, and others, are to be discussed at today's Town Meeting deliberative session at 9 a.m. in the William J. Tirone Gymnasium at 27 Highland St.

Voters will elect town officers and decide on the warrant articles in balloting on March 12.

The article to reduce membership on the Board of Selectmen from five to three was put on the ballot through a petition that received 26 signatures. Under state law, an article shall be inserted on the warrant if it receives the signatures of at least 25 registered voters.

The first person to sign the petition was Jeanette Stewart. A member of the advertising sales staff at The Laconia Daily Sun, she said she has served on five-member and three-member boards and found a smaller board to be more effective.

She said a five-member board is more prone to absenteeism and delays in decision-making.

“With a three-member select board, the three members know they have to show up because there’s only three of them,” she said in an interview. “With a five-member board, they don’t care.”

Videos of board meetings over the last year show the panel was often at or near full strength in their monthly meetings.

If the warrant article were to pass, the top three vote-getters in the 2020 election would stay on the board, Stewart said.

At a public meeting Thursday night, selectmen expressed support for keeping five members on the board.

"You have more heads in the game," said Chair Frances Newton. "There's a lot of stuff going on in the town. Having more opinions at the table, more opportunities for discussion and always ensuring a quorum to conduct business, it's essential to have five."

Another article on the warrant asks whether the town should raise $1,799,420 for a road and utility reconstruction project on Thompson Street, High Street and Smith Hill Road. A three-fifths majority vote is required to authorize the project, which would be funded with bonds.

Another article asks whether Ashland should change to a town manager type of government. The town now has an administrator.

Managers have more authority, as outlined under state law, and serve as the administrative head of all departments of the town, while a town administrator works under the direct supervision of the Board of Selectmen.