Town Government
Boards & Commissions
What Boards & Commissions Are
Wilbraham lists more than forty boards, committees and commissions, and between them they do most of the governing that never reaches a headline. They review subdivisions, hear zoning appeals, protect the wetlands and roughly 1,500 acres of town conservation land, recommend which Community Preservation projects the town should fund, and advise Town Meeting on every dollar it is asked to spend. They are the rooms where an ordinary resident can have the most direct hand in a decision.
Some are elected on the May ballot. Most are appointed by the Select Board and serve fixed terms. The meetings are public, and seats open up regularly.
Key Boards & Commissions
- Finance Committee. Nine residents appointed by the Select Board, three each year for three year terms, and none of them may hold an elected town office. Under town bylaws section 504, no money article can be voted at Town Meeting until this committee has considered it and reported on it, and its recommendation is printed beside every article in the warrant. Its quorum is five.
- Planning Board. Elected, to five year terms, which are the longest terms on the Wilbraham ballot. It reviews subdivisions and site plans and brings zoning articles to Town Meeting.
- Zoning Board of Appeals. Hears variances and special permits.
- Conservation Commission. Seven members appointed by the Select Board, chaired by Christopher J. Brown. It enforces the state Wetlands Protection Act and the town’s own Wetland By-Law and oversees about 1,500 acres of conservation land.
- Community Preservation Committee. Nine members, chaired by Tracey Plantier: one each from the Conservation Commission, Historical Commission, Planning Board, Playground and Recreation Commission, Housing Authority and Open Space and Recreation Committee, plus three at-large members appointed by the Select Board. It recommends how the town spends its Community Preservation money, and Town Meeting decides.
- Board of Water Commissioners. Three members, elected, overseeing the Water Division and the town’s purchase of Quabbin water from the MWRA. Chair Jamie Dunbar.
- Wilbraham Housing Authority. Five members under town bylaws Article III section 309: four elected by the town to staggered five year terms and one appointed by the Governor. Chair Peter Manolakis.
- Council on Aging. Seven members, chaired by Charles Marsman, meeting at 10:00 am on the first Wednesday of the month at the Senior Center.
- Historical Commission, Cemetery Commission, Board of Library Trustees and Agricultural Commission each look after a piece of the town that would otherwise have no advocate.
For the full roster, current members, vacancies and schedules, see wilbraham-ma.gov.
The Town Meeting Rulebook, in Six Lines
Wilbraham publishes a Citizen’s Guide to Town Meeting, and it is unusually specific about how the room works. Worth knowing before you walk in:
- Quorum is fifty voters. Fifty. In a town of 14,613 people, fifty registered voters can open the meeting that sets the budget.
- Ten voters can put an article on the warrant for the Annual Town Meeting, one hundred for a Special, and two hundred to make the Select Board call a Special.
- The deadlines are February 1 and March 1. February 1 if your article costs money, March 1 if it does not.
- Debate cannot be cut off while voters are still lining up, until five have spoken on each side.
- Seven voters can demand a count. If the Moderator declares a vote and any seven voters stand, the tellers count it properly.
- Most motions carry on a simple majority, but bylaw and zoning articles usually need two thirds, and a few matters need four fifths or nine tenths.
How to Serve
- Find an opening on the town’s Boards and Committees page, which posts current vacancies.
- Submit a letter of interest to the Select Board office at 240 Springfield Street.
- Interview if asked, and await appointment by the Select Board.
- Serve: attend the public meetings and help make decisions for your town.
Serving on a board is one of the most direct ways to shape Wilbraham.