RUTLAND — Voters will be asked to approve bylaws, mostly reworked versions of existing bylaws that have guided the town for generations, at the upcoming special town meeting.
The meeting will start at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, in the lower level of the Rutland Public Library, 280 Main St.
Work has been ongoing to updated older bylaws, many of which are outdated. Since Rutland does not have a charter, its bylaws have evolved over time, Town Administrator Austin Cyganiewicz said.
“It has been years since they (the bylaws) were updated or reviewed,” Cyganiewicz said of the effort that dates back to the first town administrator in 2015. “It was a goal of the Select Board established this year to modernize town government.”
The bylaw changes on the warrant are supplemented with a web page, https://www.rutlandma.gov/470/Proposed-By-law-Updates, that details the proposed changes and highlights consequential bylaw changes.
The work includes “a lot of cleanup,” Cyganiewicz said, and many sought to “formalize actual practice.”
Among the bylaws is one governing the town administrator.
“Since the ATM is budget-focused, they thought that a bylaw-only meeting would place more significance on the conversation,” Cyganiewicz said, “to talk about what residents want the government structure to look like.”
Sunday sessions have offered explanations for residents, with the last one slated for 4 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Rutland Library. The sessions are also recorded for cable.
“There was not a lot of attendance at the summer meetings, where the bylaw committee worked on the project,” Cyganiewicz said, so the sessions were designed to ensure enough public input.
“I have to give credit to the bylaw committee,” he said. “They spent a lot of time.” Many of the members have been working since the group was started in 2016.
Going forward, the Select Board has approved a permanent bylaw committee to make sure things stay up to date.
Following the special town meeting, the Select Board will forming a new five-member Bylaw Committee charged with reviewing existing general bylaws and drafting new general bylaws when appropriate.
The Committee will meet at least once per quarter; anyone interested in serving can send a letter of interest to admin@townofrutland.org or complete a Volunteer Application Form on the town website.
