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Williamstown Voters Go to the Polls on Tuesday

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town's voters will go to the polls Tuesday to decide one of five five-year seats on the Planning Board.
 
That is the only contested race among the six positions on the ballot for the annual spring election.
 
Challenger Peter Beck faces incumbent Carlisle in the Planning Board race.
 
In addition to that contest, there are uncontested races on the ballot for the Select Board (two seats), Milne Library Trustees (two seats) and Housing Authority (three seats).
 
In-person balloting will take place in the Williamstown Elementary School gymnasium from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
 
Voters are asked to wear face coverings and abide by social distancing guidelines from the commonwealth to help deter the spread of the novel coronavirus.
 
Town officials spent the spring encouraging voters to apply for and use mail-in ballots in order to cut down on the number of voters who needed to turn out on election day. 
 
The polling was postponed from its traditional mid-May date due to uncertainty earlier this spring about how to conduct the election in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The annual town meeting, which normally occurs one week after the town election, remains postponed to a date to be announced.
 
The Select Board Monday is scheduled to address the question of when and where to hold town meeting.
 
Included in the board's packet is a June 11 memo from the Department of Public Health that reads, in part, "Town officials are encouarged, to the extent feasible, to hold meetings virtually or outdoors and to ensure that attendees are spaced at least 6 feet apart."

Tags: election 2020,   town elections,   


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Williamstown Charter Review Panel OKs Fix to Address 'Separation of Powers' Concern

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter.
 
The committee accepted language designed to meet concerns raised by the Planning Board about separation of powers under the charter.
 
The committee's original compliance language — Article 32 on the annual town meeting warrant — would have made the Select Board responsible for determining a remedy if any other town board or committee violated the charter.
 
The Planning Board objected to that notion, pointing out that it would give one elected body in town some authority over another.
 
On Wednesday, Charter Review Committee co-Chairs Andrew Hogeland and Jeffrey Johnson, both members of the Select Board, brought their colleagues amended language that, in essence, gives authority to enforce charter compliance by a board to its appointing authority.
 
For example, the Select Board would have authority to determine a remedy if, say, the Community Preservation Committee somehow violated the charter. And the voters, who elect the Planning Board, would have ultimate say if that body violates the charter.
 
In reality, the charter says very little about what town boards and committees — other than the Select Board — can or cannot do, and the powers of bodies like the Planning Board are regulated by state law.
 
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