Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 12/19/2023
HAMPDEN — About a dozen residents attended an in-person community forum on Dec. 12 to discuss ways in which the municipal government could better operate.
The town had voted to authorize a Government Study Committee at the October 2022 Town Meeting.
The committee began its work in March by interviewing town board members and the heads of key departments, including Town Administrator Bob Markel, Town Clerk Eva Wiseman, Police Chief Scott Trombly and Treasurer Richard Patullo. Through that work they had identified five key topics to consider — the number of members on the Board of Selectmen, the use of electronic polling devices during town meetings, whether to continue with elected officials or use appointed officials, consolidating government positions and the creation of a better-defined role for the town administrator. Government Study Committee Chair Donna Hatch noted suggested changes outside of this list would also be considered.
Hatch began by asking how well the town functions. Resident Thad Clavette said the town is operating, but there is a “tendency to not get things done” and “letting assets deteriorate.” He also said the town was “held hostage” by the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District and pointed to questions he had about the 18-month-long lighting malfunction at Minnechaug Regional High School.
Board of Selectman Chair John Flynn, attending as a resident, said the town’s financial structure is working well and noted the increase in taxes was limited to 1%, showing “good management.”
Another resident said he finds Hampden’s town government to be “refreshing.” He specifically mentioned its use of paper ballots in elections and the friendliness of the town office staff. “I’m concerned about making a more elaborate form of government,” he said. “I’m not sure bigger is better.”
Resident and former Board of Selectman member Mary Ellen Glover, said one of her main concerns with the town is communication. For example, she said a robocall was sent out about the forum, however only 10 residents attended.
Clavette talked about the need to get people interested in issues affecting the town. He commented that half of the attendees left the most recent Town Meeting after their topic of interest had been discussed. “You got them to come out for one item. How do we get them to come out for other things?”
Ex-officio committee member John Matthews agreed and asked, “How do we get younger people involved?”
Glover said a multimedia approach, including newsletters, presentations, and online content, was required to get information to residents. Town Administrator Bob Markel said that the town had recently taken out a half page ad in the newspaper regarding vacancies on boards and committees.
“It will be interesting to see what kind of volunteers we get,” he said.
Doug Boyd, who chairs the Advisory Committee, saw part of the problem as a lack of social activities and opportunities to bring residents into municipal government. He said the day-to-day governance is “not exciting” but necessary.
“We have to do a better job recruiting ... by warm friendly people,” Glover commented. The lack of volunteers is not unique to government boards and committees. One resident said the Senior Center has experienced a similar scarcity of interest.
One resident asked if younger people had been moving into the town. While Markel said he was not aware of any information on that, Government Study Committee members Michal Boudreau and Keith Pixley said their own experiences pointed to an increase in younger residents with families. Matthews noted half of the Government Study Committee was comprised of “young people.”
Glover shared that seven homes were currently under construction on Chapin Road and opined that they would likely be sold to families. Another resident said younger families are too busy and not at a stage of life where they have free time to volunteer.
Considering the dearth of residents interested in serving on boards, the conversation turned to the number of members on the Board of Selectman. Hampden has been run with a three-member board; however, Hatch said many other towns use five members to reduce the risk of biases dominating the discussion and Open Meeting Law violations due to accidental quorums.
Government Study Committee member Eric Brewer said there was no “overwhelming argument” for either three- or five-member boards, but smaller towns generally have three people serving in the position.
Clavette agreed that the quorum issue was a problem. “I don’t think you’d have trouble getting two more people,” he said.
Boyd remarked, “Oh, I disagree.” He said the town has had to work to get enough candidates to fill three seats. Glover suggested adopting term limits to encourage new people to run for the board.
Moving to the topic of whether positions should be elected or appointed, Pixley said some people may not want to “go through an election,” but would otherwise be willing to serve the town. He added that many towns are opting for appointed officials, but acknowledged some towns have more elected officials than Hampden. Hatch said appointments “cast a wider net” than elections because non-residents can be considered.
Clavette asked if all positions would be changed to appointments or “just the ones where you don’t like who’s in [the seat]?”
Pixley said appointments allow the town to ensure people are qualified for their positions. The growing complexity of government means a different skill set may be advantageous, Hatch noted.
Markel said municipal department heads now often require training. He said becoming certified in positions, which increases compensation, can require two years of training and an exam that must be passed. A change from elected to appointed positions would require a bylaw amendment.
Some of the positions, whether elected or appointed, may be consolidated. Consolidated positions are a trend across the state, Brewer said, adding that most towns combine the treasurer and tax collector. Hampden has one person who serves as both the tax collector and town clerk.
Regarding electronic polling and voting at Town Meeting, Pixley explained that residents would use a small keypad to select yes or no on each warrant article. The equipment can be bought or rented and need not be connected to the internet. Citing the revote taken at the most recent Town Meeting, he said an electronic voting system would have eliminated any discrepancy and the need to count each vote by hand.
Hatch said anonymity would be another benefit, taking peer pressure out of the equation. Pixley said people may be more likely to attend and vote at Town Meeting if they can avoid tension with neighbors. He said he was stunned by how many Town Meeting votes are unanimous and theorize that some people may vote yes or no based on their neighbors’ votes.
Glover agreed that electronic voting systems provide accuracy and anonymity. Flynn remarked that more towns are using the devices and “seem to be happy.”
Clavette said he doesn’t “trust” electronic voting devices based on his experiences of using similar systems at his job. Meanwhile, Boyd called it “a solution in search of a problem.”
Matthews assured the participants that the committee was still gathering data and any changes in voting would have to be made official through the amendment of a bylaw.
The final topic of discussion was the role of the town administrator. With the impending departure of Markel, the Government Study Committee asked if the role should be changed or better defined.
Markel volunteered that in his position he has been “minimally involved” in creating the annual budget and a strong role in labor negotiations. “How much central management do you want?” he asked. Hampden is “very decentralized,” which has led to some difficulties in making changes. “There needs to be enough central authority to get things done,” Markel said.
Glover said that there are times when the tasks of the town administrator and Board of Selectmen collide.
“I don’t see any reason to change a single thing that [Markel] has done,” Clavette said.
Boyd said he had advocated for the creation of the town administrator role and that Markel had “helped define that role.”
A second forum will be hosted in the spring, before the committee’s recommendations are presented at the May Town Meeting. Residents with comments or suggestions who were not able to attend the forum were urged to email hampdenGRC@gmail.com.