The Task Force for the Protection of Town Volunteers and Officials has met several times to discuss recommendations for what actions the town can take to cultivate civility and security in public discourse. It plans to provide a report to the Board of Selectmen by May 1 with recommendations the town can take for potential improvements to its current practices.
Such improvements may include continuing education resources that could be made available to all board and commission members.
“It’s important to provide resources for continuing education for all board and commission members,” said First Selectman Nick D’Addario, who chairs the task force. “It’s important that these volunteers understand how a meeting works, how they’re protected by the town’s liability insurance for official acts, and also how they can better understand conflict resolution with the public.”
The task force was formed in February following concerns raised during the public comment portion of Board of Selectmen meetings about people being unwilling to serve on boards and commissions as volunteers if they risk retaliation by members of the public. Prior to the task force’s creation, the Board of Selectmen issued a statement on Dec. 3 emphasizing that Easton depends on volunteers for the town to function effectively, and it takes its obligation very seriously to protect individuals who serve from threat or harm.
The report may include recommendations for updating the employee handbook and guide for volunteers, social media policy, ethics ordinance, the screening process for volunteers and officials and the suggestion that Easton adopt a civility pledge for board and commission members to abide by, which has become popular across the country.
Selectmen Kristi Sogofsky said she appreciates the willingness of those serving on the task force to take a closer look at this issue.
“It’s unfortunate we need to take these steps but the town should have a clear understanding about the protections available to its volunteer board and commission members,” said Sogofsky. “I’d also like to see clarification of a process on what steps an individual or the town should follow if an incident occurs.
D’Addario said he found it disappointing that the task force was created in the wake of a lot of intense public comment by members of the public, but no member of the public has attended any of the task force meetings or offered recommendations despite his multiple offers.
“I have raised it at Board of Selectmen meetings, and prior to the task force’s charge being drawn up there were members of the public who expressed interest in what the task force would be focusing on, and I had offered to meet with them and to assess what we should focus on, so that’s been a disappointing part of the process,” he said.
The town hopes that bipartisan cooperation in the forming of the report will help temper the tone of public discourse back towards civility.
“The particular incident that sparked all of this really was the result of a more pervasive culture in politics in the town,” said First Selectman David Bindelglass. “When we set up the charge for the taskforce we tried to make it a little more global. I think they’ve done a very good and frankly a very bipartisan job of looking at the big picture. I think that is actually a big key.”
The town is asking the citizens of Easton to join them in practicing good faith in public expression for the sake of everyone.
“I think we all have a responsibility, “said Bindelglass “It’s our town. We pride ourselves on being good neighbors to each other. Whether it’s citizen to citizen, citizen to volunteer, citizen to employee, volunteer to employee, whatever the interaction, I think we all owe it to each other to be civil.”
The Board of Selectmen will accept the task force’s completed report and after a discussion will vote to endorse its recommendations.
If the report includes a recommendation that requires an ordinance change that would have to be voted on at a town meeting.
The task force will be disbanded upon the completion of its report.
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