Preparation of the Agenda

The agenda of a selectmen’s meeting had virtually no legal significance prior to a major overhaul of the open meeting law in 2010. Under the previous version of the law, the meeting posting simply had to say when and where the board would convene. Now, the required notice of a meeting must include "a listing of topics that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting" [G.L. c. 30A, §20(b)]. Note the imposition of personal responsibility: "that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed."



Topic descriptions must be specific enough to advise the public of the issues to be discussed. "Construction," for example, is not adequate, but "award of construction contract for new fire station on Elm Street" is. The attorney general’s office takes a dim view of catch-all descriptions such as "New Business," preferring that the notice explicitly state that time will be reserved for topics the chair did not reasonably anticipate.

In most towns, the responsibility for preparing the meeting agenda falls to the chair, often with help from professional staff, or to the town manager or other professional staff member. This task includes determining what issues will be up for discussion, what the order of items will be, and what will not appear on the agenda.

Selectmen should set a deadline by which they must receive all requests to have items appear on the agenda. Usually, the agenda is "closed" several days before a regularly scheduled meeting, to allow time for it to be prepared and distributed. Generally, a chair will honor the request of any board member to have an item included on the agenda. If such a request is denied, however, the member can call for a vote of the board to instruct the chair to include the item on the agenda of the next meeting. Some boards have an "added agenda," with important items that came up after the regular agenda was prepared.

Many boards begin the agenda by approving the minutes of the previous meeting. This practice is recommended because it requires that the minutes be prepared promptly and that proper record keeping is maintained. It also reminds all members where they left off in the town’s business and what remains to be pursued.12 The Massachusetts Municipal Association


Handbook for Massachusetts Selectmen