Rehoboth Selectmen Delay Bylaw Changes

The Board of Selectmen delayed approving any changes to the town bylaws until the fall.

Town Clerk Laura Schwall had expected the board to review and approve the changes before the June 4 Spring Town Meeting. Chairman Skip Vadnais told Schwall more time was necessary. “We’re not going to have an item by item discussion with the reasoning,” Vadnais said on Monday. “Unfortunately, we’re at the end of our timeline. We don’t have four hours to go through it tonight.”

“All we want is to be open and transparent,” Schwall said. “We’re trying to give the town and the citizens a tool that is so much easier to use, and that is current with the state statute.”

Richard Panofsky, a member of the bylaw review committee, noted the process was “long, very careful, and involved.”

“There’s lots of documentation for why every proposed change was made,” he continued. “I know that the changes are not making up new rules. We’re not changing any of the meanings of the law, we’re correcting mistakes that inadvertently crept in.”

“Our bylaws were unenforceable,” Schwall noted. “You had elected people that are now appointed. We made these changes so our bylaws are current and correct.”

“I’m not going to allow any more discussion on the subject,” Vadnais added. “We’re going to return in the fall to finish this process.”

In May 2023, the board approved a contract with General Code for $10,000. The company, based in Rochester, New York, pledged to make the bylaws available on the town website. The process was due to be completed before the end of 2024.

135 municipalities in Massachusetts have General Code’s Codification of their Bylaws, including Mansfield, Plainville, Fall River, Easton, Fairhaven, and Taunton.