Vote to Expand Lancaster's Select Board on May 6th
Information on the intiative to increase the membership of the Select Board to five in Lancaster, Massachusetts
On Monday, May 6th Lancaster will meet for our 2024 Annual Town Meeting. Lancaster will have the opportunity to start the process of expanding it's Select Board to five members. It's the first step in a process that could take two years: unless the legislature acts more quickly than expected, or Lancaster needs to hold a special election for something else, you could expect to elect your extra Select Board members in 2026.
Use the links in the navigation bar at the top to read the Petition Text and get answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
Updates:
9/31/2023: In it's 2023 report reviewing Lancaster's government, the state Division of Local Services recommended that Lancaster expand its Select Board to five members. You can view that report here, with the recommendation on page 19 of the PDF file (or numbered page 13.)
2/12/2024: The Lancaster "Government Study Committee" voted unanimously to recommend that this year's Annual Town Meeting consider expanding the Select Board! You can read the Government Study Committee's report here.
3/25/2024: The town meeting article has been submitted to the town clerk; it's been stamped in and all signatures have been certified!
4/29/2024: We went through the "nuts and bolts" of the article at the Warrant Review Meeting. Find it on TownHallStreams.com
5/6/2024: "Article 20" was accepted at Annual Town Meeting tonight; Lancaster will now request "Special Legislation" to expand Lancaster's Select Board.
Next Steps:
Later in 2024: Request "Special Legislation"
May 12, 2025: Approve the special legislation at the 2025 Annual Town Election.
May 11, 2026: Elect 3 select board members (one for seat up for re-election, and two for new seats) to fill out a 5 member board!