MMA.ORG
The Massachusetts Select Board Association will unveil the new edition of the Handbook for Massachusetts Select Board Members during its Annual Business Meeting on Jan. 20 in Boston.
The 2024 edition of the handbook will be published online on www.mma.org in January and will include extensive content updates to reflect changes to laws, regulations and policies, as well as emerging best practices. The new edition features new chapters on climate change, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
The new format — a microsite within the MMA website — will allow users to easily navigate and search the content, while allowing for content updates to be made as needed on a rolling basis.
Three members of the MSA Handbook Committee — Williamstown Select Board Member and MSA President Andy Hogeland, former Norwell Select Board Member Alison Demong, and former Natick Select Board Member Joshua Ostroff (now the director of transportation planning in Newton) — will demonstrate the new handbook and answer questions.
The MSA handbook, which goes back many decades, was last updated in 2014.
Following the handbook demonstration, Bird Guess, the CEO of Racial Equity Group, will discuss DEI opportunities for select boards.
Guess has been working with the MMA’s DEI Committee since September to develop a strategic plan for the advancement of municipal DEI efforts. His presentation will include a discussion of best practices for select boards to gauge their municipality’s needs and to initiate DEI work.
The MSA business meeting will include a report from the MSA Nominating Committee and a subsequent vote on officers and a District 5 representative for the 2024 MSA Board of Directors.
The MSA Annual Business Meeting will be held from 8:15 to 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, during the MMA Annual Meeting & Trade Show at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.
All select board members in Massachusetts are considered members of the MSA and are invited to attend the MSA Annual Business Meeting, provided they are registered for the MMA Annual Meeting. Attendance at the MSA Annual Business Meeting is limited to MSA members.