Plympton’s Board of Selectmen met on Monday, Aug. 12, and voted unanimously to adopt a three-page, single-spaced “Code of Conduct” enumerating behavior and protocols for a varety of situations.
In introducing the policy outline, Town Administrator Liz Dennehy distributed the handbook with the following message:
The Board of Selectmen has unanimously approved the concept of establishing a Code of Conduct for Boards and Committees. We believe that this Code, which is comprised of language from the Massachusetts Municipal Association and other communities, will serve as a guide for maintaining civility in communications amongst Boards and Committees, Town staff and the general public and will ultimately further enhance our ability to provide efficient, effective and responsive public service as a Town government team. While we’re aware that in terms of implementation, elected Boards or Committees can certainly opt out, we’re hopeful that everyone will see this as a useful tool in terms of encouraging respectful communications and furthering Town initiatives in the provision of public service.”
The guide deals with acceptable conduct generally and in relation to the community, other elected and appointed officials, conduct in relation to town administration and town staff.
The Town Clerk shall provide a copy of this policy to all elected and appointed officials upon its issuance and upon the subsequent appointment or re-appointment of officials.
Each official shall sign a statement that they have read and understood the policy and that they will comply with all requirements set forth herein. In the event that any member declines to sign the statement form, that fact shall be noted by the Town Clerk on said form.
Should any official receive or become aware of a violation of this policy, they should report the violation to the Town Administrator and his/her department head.
Violation of its policy may constitute good cause for removal of appointed board/committee members.
Elected officials, while ultimately accountable to the voters of Plympton, may be subject to a request for their resignation, public censure or reprimand, or a recall petition, accordingly.
A complete copy of the Plympton Code of Conduct policy can be found at the office of the Plympton Town Clerk.