At Monday night’s (Aug. 6) Board of Selectmen meeting, the five members of the board voted to change the time of their regular, bi-weekly meeting, pushing the start from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., on the first and third Mondays of every month.
First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice suggested the change, noting it would make it easier for working members of the BOS to arrive on time and be present for the duration of the meeting. Four of the five BOS members–Lori Bufano, Dave Clune, Josh Cole and Deb McFadden–all work full-time in addition to their volunteer responsibilities to the town.
In particular, Vanderslice mentioned that Clune, who regularly commutes by train from New York City, sometimes arrives after a meeting has already begun (either in open or executive session) because of a late train arrival, jokingly adding, “We all know the lack of reliability of Metro-North based on your schedule.”
Vanderslice said it would benefit her as well. As a full-time employee of the town, she puts in a full day at Town Hall. Pushing the meeting start time 30 minutes later would enable her to go home for dinner before returning for the BOS meeting, rather than having to wait until after a meeting’s end–often 10 p.m. or later–to eat.
One member of the public who spoke at the end of the meeting during public comment suggested that a later start time would discourage members of the public from attending the meetings. “I appreciate you would like to have dinner, and we have Dave’s train to deal with. But as a member of the public, I thought you would maybe say we would try and start earlier…I think an 8 p.m. start is difficult for residents who are trying to make it to a meeting.”
The Board of Selectmen’s new meeting time of 8 p.m. will take effect at its next meeting on Monday, Aug. 20. Meetings air live on Wilton’s Government Access Channel, Cablevision Channel 79. Video recordings of every BOS meeting are also available on the town website.