When did chartered responsibilities in town government change? Much of the current election rhetoric seems to revolve around a belief that selectmen establish investment and spending priorities for the town, and by extension, that they determine taxation to fund those decisions. In fact, unless something changed when we weren’t looking, those are legislative decisions, and in town meeting government, the legislature is the town meeting.
Selectmen are the executive branch, responsible to carry out the will of Town Meeting—to execute, not to legislate, not to appropriate. For a candidate to promise to change the level of taxation, up or down, could be construed as a commitment to ignore, or worse, to work against the expressed legislative will of the town.
To be sure, continuous increases in property taxes are worrisome, and elected leaders should test and question major investments and expenses to make certain that alternatives have been carefully considered. But when that has been done, and recommendations have been reviewed and supported by all responsible parties, they should be presented to the legislature (Town Meeting) for decision.
Selectmen certainly have an important role in setting strategic direction for the town. Recent projects, including the town center sewer and municipal buildings, depended on project teams appointed and charged by Selectmen, with regular reviews and coordination with finance, capital, historical, and community preservation committees, to ensure funding plans compatible with ongoing town finance, and property tax impact.
Historically, a qualitative difference between Harvard and other towns its size has been the ability to attract volunteer expertise for critical planning and design activities. Harvard’s abundance of trained and experienced experts in many disciplines makes the town uniquely able to manage complex projects at a fraction of what the town would have to pay for such expertise. So far, we have been able to engage such volunteer resources when needed, but elected officials putting up roadblocks have shrunk the pool.
Done effectively, town finance is a process, with collaborative participation among all elements of town government. Selectmen can foster that collaboration, and the ability to attract and empower volunteer participation may be one of the best predictors of an effective selectman. Today, with the Master Plan update underway, there is a perfect opportunity for Selectmen to be involved, and to help Harvard set direction beyond the annual budget and capital plan.
Clearly, the issue of Devens is the biggest unanswered question, and the steering committee is ready to tackle it, once Town Meeting approves the next phase, which it should do without hesitation. Selectmen should make this their top priority in the coming year, helping to engage all residents in deciding whether to embrace Devens as part of Harvard, or to isolate it to be integrated with one of the other towns, or left to stand on its own.
Let’s ask candidates to say how they will get Harvard where it wants to go (and how they will help decide direction), and how they will work within the process to make it happen.
