Select Board Focuses On Communicating With Public
Enhanced communication and transparency emerged as two prominent themes of discussion at the Falmouth Select Board’s annual strategic planning retreat on Wednesday, July 7.
Board members engaged in an introspective conversation about their role and function, agreeing that they must prioritize clear and public communication and education among members of the board and with the larger Falmouth community.
“There are little pieces that I think we need to be real clear about, about what’s expected and how we function as a board, not individuals,” said board member Nancy R. Taylor.
In prioritizing open and clear communication with the public, the board aims to eliminate miscommunication and misunderstanding when it comes to governmental processes. One point that was discussed was the wavering level of support from the public for fiscal management of the town.
“I think we can improve on supporting fiscal management in this town and be a buffer out there to explain when people say things that aren’t true or aren’t entirely understood,” said Ms. Taylor. “We need to have a really good understanding, so we can support what is coming out of that office.”
Miscommunication between Falmouth’s various boards and committees and the public has historically been an issue, but it is also something the select board has taken specific notice of and is hoping to improve on in the coming years.
“Mistakes are going to happen,” said board member Megan English Braga. “Every board, every committee, every employee is going to make mistakes; that’s not the problem… There’s kind of a distrust of government out there and no matter what people do, folks just have that distrust. I think the only way to counteract it is to always put an abundance of information to the public and invite the public into the conversation.”
The board also paid specific attention to the state Open Meeting Law, what it means, and how to ensure that both board and community members understand it.
“All of us by nature, when we have answers or opinions, we want to give them,” said assistant town manager Peter Johnson-Staub. Mr. Johnson-Staub went on to say that, when it comes to things like email correspondence that are inherently not public, board members must exercise caution to not offer up anything that could be perceived as deliberation—which includes agreement, disagreement, or personal opinions—when responding. The reason for this is to ensure that all conversations regarding potential agenda items or topics of discussion are accessible to members of the public, in accordance with the Open Meeting Law. In turn, the board agreed, the public must then have an understanding of the Open Meeting Law and how it works in order for the public discussions the law is meant to facilitate to occur as intended.
Select board members also placed a specific emphasis on providing orientation and educational resources for new committee members once they are elected or appointed. Board member Onjalé Scott Price was a key player in formulating the idea for an orientation.
“Onjalé and I had a call and when she was asking really good questions. I was thinking ‘This has got to be memorialized somewhere, because these are really common questions,’” said Ms. Braga. “They’re probably the same questions we all had.”
By providing new board members with the fundamentals outright, the board hopes to fast-track and enhance its engagement with the community. Promoting training and education of the law and other governmental processes will, the board hopes, allow both members and the general public to maintain a better understanding of what these processes really are and how they are intended to maximize governmental efficiency.
“Open Meeting Law is complex and it’s not intuitive,” said Ms. Braga. “Where we could do better is continually educating and bringing up the information about processes and projects that we’re working on.”