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Community Participation at Selectboard Meetings

Want to get onto a Selectboard agenda?

Contact Selectboard chair Zon Eastes or Town Administrator Erika Elder by phone or email on or before noon on the Wednesday prior to any Selectboard meeting. The Selectboard chair is responsible for establishing the agenda for all meetings. To gain a spot on the agenda, the Selectboard will need to know the issue you plan to address. A written proposal will smooth the process. (We can provide examples.)

Want to communicate an issue or question to the Selectboard?

Write the Selectboard a letter or email. 

You can also email individual Selectboard members. Email addresses can be found here.

Want to bring up a point during a Selectboard meeting?

Selectboard meetings are conductes in the public but are not conducted for the public. They are for the Selectboard to do the town’s business and for no other purpose. The Selectboard determines what business should come before the Selectboard. Raise your hand to be recognized by the chair. When acknowledged, say your name and the road you live on. All comments and questions should be addressed to the chair.

Know that the public can participate in meetings only at certain points in the agenda, normally during the discussion period prior to any vote.

Community members may comment or pose questions. However, the should be no expectation that will be an interchange between community members and the Selectboard chair. Questions raised by community members will be recorded and responded to here, for all to read.

Want to speak to the community during the Community Comment period?

Email verandahporche@guilfordvt.gov to request a spot. Depending upon time and space, you will be notified. You have up to 3 minutes to speak to the Selectboard, who will hear your comments on behalf of the community. Begin with your name and the road you live on. There will be no expectation for an exchange with or response from the Selectboard or community members.

Robert’s Rules of Order guide the Selectboard meeting process. For members of the public:

  • If you are on the agenda
    • You will be called upon at the appropriate moment in the agenda. Say your name and the road you live on
    • Address your presentation to the chair 
    • You may not address specific members of the Selectboard or the public
    • Present your comments within the allotted time printed on the agenda
  • If you are not on the agenda, you can take part in the meeting at specific points in the process, usually in the discussion prior to any vote.
    • Raise your hand. You must be recognized by the chair before speaking
    • Say your name and the road you live on
    • Address your comments to the chair
    • You may not address specific members of the Selectboard or the public
    • There may or may not be a response from the Selectboard

Erika Elder: townadmin@guilfordvt.gov