Wayland subcommittee weighs Bedford model for Finance Committee appointments

WAYLAND — November 15, 2022 — Wayland subcommittee hears cautionary tale from Bedford on Finance Committee appointments. Select Board member Thomas J. Fay and Adam Gusenbizal, meeting Tuesday as the Finance Committee Appointment Study Group Subcommittee, interviewed Bedford Town Moderator Mark Siegenthaler about Bedford's requirement that the Select Board chair, Finance Committee chair and moderator unanimously approve every appointment to its nine-member Finance Committee. Siegenthaler said the structure produced repeated 2-1 deadlocks last summer after interviewing "six or seven people" for two vacancies, and that he would support shifting to a majority vote. "I'm not sure I would necessarily recommend it to you," he told the subcommittee. Wayland currently lets its Select Board alone appoint all seven Finance Committee members; the subcommittee was created by Town Meeting warrant article to study alternatives. Gusenbizal will draft a report, with the Select Board seeking it by mid-January.