The way the public can participate in meetings of Town bodies is critical to community-building, exercise of rights, and development of a common vision for Truro going forward.

On December 7, the SB began to consider the Town’s policy on continuing remote access to public meetings and on whether and how it will institute hybrid meetings that would allow both remote and in-person participation.  This discussion anticipates the expiration in April 2022 of the State’s current regulations permitting remote access meetings during the pandemic unless action is taken by Truro and the State.

TPRTA is urging the Select Board to permanently continue remote access to all meetings of public Boards, Committees and Town appointed task groups and to institute hybrid meetings when feasible for the most important decision-making committees – at a minimum, the key governance and regulatory bodies such as the Select Board, Board of Health, Finance Committee and Joint BudgetTask Force, Planning Board, ZBA, Conservation Commission, Local Comprehensive Plan, Charter Review, All Town Meeting and Special Town Meetings, and others whose deliberations have force and effect.

We also urge the SB to inform our State elected officials of the Town’s desire to do this so that MA legislation on Open Meeting Law and meetings of public bodies will permit Truro to take these actions lawfully.