Arlington Deputy Town Manager Sandy Pooler began the session with a brief review of some of the key aspects of municipal finance that are important for select board members to consider, including the link between the budget document and policy, the roles of select boards, finance committees, and municipal staff in budgeting and policy development, and the six key management steps for producing a budget, derived from the Division of Local Services’ Guide to Financial Management for Town Officials.

Pooler fielded questions on subjects like capital budgeting, budgeting for regional school districts, planning and budgeting in the time of ARPA (federal American Rescue Plan Act), timelines for reviewing contracts and expenditures, and the role of community preservation commission funds in budgeting.

The second half of the webinar featured an update from K.P. Law Managing Partner Lauren Goldberg about emerging issues with the open meeting and public records laws. Goldberg discussed legal issues with municipal use of social media, the application of the open meeting law to emails, and Chapter 20 0f the Acts of 2021, which extended provisions for public bodies to meet remotely.

Goldberg responded to questions about the open meeting and public records laws, including rules around serial communications, board member recusal from agenda items, meeting posting requirements, and cross-committee meeting requirements.

Resources
• Division of Local Services’ Municipal Finance Training and Resource Center
• DLS Guide to Financial Management for Town Officials
• Extension of Pandemic-Related Relief Relative to Municipal Operations, KP Law
• Participation in Executive Session, KP Law
• Reviewing Proposed Amendments to Bylaws and Ordinances, KP Law
• Open Meeting Law – Preparing a Meeting Notice, KP Law
• Public Records Law Update, KP Law
• The Open Meeting Law and Social Media – Potential Pitfalls, KP Law

• Open Meeting Law and Public Records Law: Technology and Emerging Issues – KP LAW presentation (243K PDF)