The Select Board has voted to allow nonresidents to become voting members of town committees. The vote at the board’s Aug. 22 meeting was unanimous, with the decision coming down to the town’s need to get as much help as possible.
The main goals for the town were to allow the participation of interested nonresidents “who may be able to help,” and to get “more volunteers,” said Select Board Chair Rich Maiore.
This decision will allow the board to appoint a nonresident who is already serving as an advisor to the Harvard Climate Initiative Committee. The new policy allows the appointment of town employees and allows committees to recruit expert members living in other towns.
The Harvard Town Charter, which was approved five years ago, states that anyone who wants to join a town committee has to be interviewed and approved by the Select Board. And, as discussed in the last meeting, every appointed member will have to go through ethics training before starting their position.
Still, board members agreed that the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals should be kept off-limits to nonresidents to “cut down on the potential of a nonresident trying to join one of those committees to create a policy that may be beneficial to them or a contact of theirs,” Maiore said.
The new policy specifies that membership is also limited to not more than one nonresident for a three-person committee, two for a five-member committee, and three for a seven-member committee. Additionally, these appointees, just like every other resident, will serve as volunteers, not as paid staff.
During the meeting, a question came up about differentiating between nonresidents and noncitizens participating on a committee. Tim Bragan, the town administrator, explained that “nonresidents may not be appointed as members of the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Appeals, but noncitizens who reside in the town can.” Noncitizen Harvard residents have always been eligible to serve on appointed boards and committees, Bragan told the Press this week.
