This is just one of several proposals from the Select Board to improve the meeting's efficiency.
Amherst Town Hall
AMHERST — When Town Meeting members gather next month, they will do so 30 minutes earlier than in the past in an effort to reduce the number of sessions.
The new start time will be a trial, Town Manager John P. Musante said. “It may make for fewer sessions,” he said.
Meetings typically are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., but this fall sessions will be called to order at 7 p.m.
Both fall and annual town meetings have needed multiple nights for business, and sometimes meetings have not begun until 7:45 p.m. or later.
This is just one of several proposals from the Select Board to improve the meeting’s efficiency.
The Town Meeting Coordinating Committee, however, in response to the Select Board’s memo had some concerns with the earlier start.
The committee conducted a survey last fall, and of 91 responses, 45 favored the earlier time and 45 opposed it. One responder had no preference.
Select Board member Stephanie J. O’Keeffe in an email said this will be a trial and members will be asked about how the time worked after the fall town meeting sessions end.
The board is also encouraging the use of the consent calendar, which would allow for quick voting on recurring articles for which no one has questions.
In the board's memo to the coordinating committee, O’Keeffe wrote, “The Select Board believes that efforts to make Town Meeting shorter and more efficient without compromising its due process are important for attracting and retaining members from all walks of life, and for making the legislative work of the town as accessible as possible to interested members of the community.”
The town has a representative town meeting with 10 members from each of the town’s 10 precincts.
Fall town meeting will begin Nov. 19.