HATFIELD — Voters will decide at the May 14 annual Town Meeting whether the Select Board should increase in size from three to five members.
To get more information to residents and answer questions about the pros and cons of a larger board, the Town Government Committee will hold a public hearing at the lower level of Town Hall at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Committee Chairman E. Lary Grossman said the idea is to give residents a chance to learn more about the article and the process that would be used to expand the board, discuss the final report completed last fall and answer questions.
The committee found that a five-member board would mean broader representation of the town and greater diversity, better functioning through use of subcommittees, and a reduced load on the town administrator. But expanding the board also would come with additional costs for stipends, and some have argued that other municipal staffing would need to increase to support the bigger board.
Edmund Jaworski, the board chairman, said he has reservations about expanding the board due to higher costs and an incomplete study, while member Brian Moriarty said he supports the measure, in part because subcommittees could do work outside of regular board meetings. Board member Cindy Doty voted to put the question on the warrant but hasn’t offered an opinion on it.
The Select Board agreed to put the matter before voters.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
