I asked Mark Gold- current and the longest tenured member of the Select Board
(since 2009) for an outline of the “homework” that is required for him in order to
adequately prepare for meetings. Below is his response:
Contrary to what many people believe, being an effective Select Board member is more than committing time for the meetings- two nights a month.
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| Mark Gold Select Board member since 2009 |
(As a minimum Select Board members should attend those meetings for which they are the SB liaison.)
Mark attends on a regular basis the following standing committees:
- Scantic Valley Regional Health Trust
Meets 9:30 - 11 AM/ once/month - Pioneer Valley Transit Authority
Meets 12 – 2 PM/ once/month - Pioneer Valley Planning Commission- PVTA
Meets 10 AM – 12 PM/ once/month - Longmeadow Permanent Building Committee
Meets 3-5 PM once per month
In addition, Mark is also a member of the PVTA/ Paratransit subcommittee (Dial-a-Ride) because it is an important service in the Longmeadow community. He also attends the meetings for the Director review and compensation committee. These two sub-committees meet about 4-6 times per year in addition to the board meetings (for about an hour at a time).
Mark also tries to attend a couple of Longmeadow Finance Committee meetings during the year, at least one Community Preservation Committee and one Longmeadow Capital Planning Committee meeting as well. These meeting are "seasonal" -generally during budget time. He also attends all of the town sponsored forums on the budget and related topics which typically occur 1-2 times/ year.
Mark has no idea how much time (if any) other Select Board members spend outside the regular meetings. He does know that the SB chair (currently Josh Levine) has to spend an hour before every meeting reviewing the agenda with the Town Manager Lyn Simmons.
Mark believes that the other three current SB members do not attend many outside meetings. A Select Board member with a full time job and family commitments would be hard pressed to participate in many of these types of board meetings that are regularly held during "normal business hours”. For the most part, it's important that there is a representative from Longmeadow.
Mark participates in as many Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) training webinars as possible. This past year he participated in 3 or 4 of them and usually skips the annual training on Open Meeting Law and Municipal Finances since he has completed them several times and they really don't change. There are two required training programs that all town employees (including Select Board members) must complete on Open Meeting Law and Conflict of Interest. These training programs are conducted on-line and take about 2 hours each to complete. Select Board members must complete a "test" at the end of the course and pass to be certified. Mark also attends the MMA annual meeting in Boston for two days every January. Only Mark and Tom Lachiusa as Select Board members attended the most recent event in January - which is a real shame because there's some GREAT information being shared there.
Prior to each Select Board meeting members receive a packet of information to review. The packet generally comes out on the Friday before our Monday meeting. It can take anywhere from 1 to 4 hours to review the information (depending if you read the many department monthly reports that are included). When there's a SB hearing (usually a utility or liquor license), Mark will review the information more closely and if there are questions he tries to send them to the petitioner in advance of the meeting so they have the answers. Mark has decided some time ago that "got-ya" questioning doesn't work well in town government. He also believes it's a waste of time when they say "we'll have to get back to you on that" which just wastes everyone's time. “I can't tell you how many times I have found an error in the packet, but I suspect I'm the only one who reads it anyway.”
Around budget time the time he spends on reviewing the budget can be as much as 6-8 hours in advance of the budget review meeting which this year will take place next Monday, March 6. As good as our Town Manager is in the preparation, he believes that oversight is worthwhile and wants to understand the budget as well as the Town Manager and our acting CFO Paul Pasterczyk. This same preparation goes for development of water and sewer rates. Second to Paul, he probably understands what makes up those rates better than anyone in town, and takes the time each year to closely review the proposal. This secondary review will be even more important when Paul finally retires.
Mark has not added up all the meetings and times, but his best estimate is that he spends 6-8 hours per week on town business, not including phone calls he gets at home and being present at meetings that he has with the Town Manager (his last meeting with Lyn lasted two hours).
Being an effective Select Board member is more than committing two nights a month for meetings.
Mark has been a Select Board member since 2009. While this is a salaried elected position at $2000/ year, Mark does it primarily as a give back to Longmeadow where he has lived with his wife Ellen for over 45 years. His two sons Daniel and Eric attended Longmeadow Public Schools.
Mark has made many significant contributions to the financial health and well being of our town by being adequately prepared for the regular biweekly Select Board meeting and getting involved with the business of our town. During his reelection campaign last year he outlined his Top 10 Accomplishments.
Thank you Mark for your commitment to our town.
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There is a Special Election next Tuesday, March 7 to fill the empty Select Board seat. There are two candidates in this election: Walter Gunn and Vineeth Hemavathi
Their election candidate profiles can be found on the LongmeadowBuzz blog.
Here are the links: Walter Gunn and Vineeth Hemavathi
Do your homework by reading these profiles to become an informed voter and then go to the Community House to vote for the best candidate.
Polls are open from 7 am - 8 pm.
