The Board of Selectmen has a new name: the Select Board.
The new name was made official Monday night after Town Meeting voted to approve three separate articles needed to make the change. There was a zoning bylaw change, a general bylaw change and a home rule petition to have the new name recognized by the state.
Town Administrator Paul Sagarino said the only thing about the board that was changed is the name and what the members will be called.
“There is no intention to change any of the duties or responsibilities of the board, it is strictly a name to reflect a more modern and contemporary name more in use in town government today,” he said. “It will be the Select Board and Select Board members.”
According to the backup material, this change has become popular among communities in the state.
“There has been a trend of late to rename the board of selectmen something that is more gender neutral and more fitting for the current time,” it reads. “A number of towns in Massachusetts have already renamed their board, e.g. Lexington. Other towns, e.g. Sudbury, Wayland, Norwood and Dedham, have been in the news lately as they have made the proposal to change the name to Select Board.”
Town Meeting voted 84-6 in favor of the name change.
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