LWVW Local Support Positions

Child Care

Goal: Creation of new child care programs coordinating with and building upon existing programs.

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. A central community resource to coordinate child care needs, programs, and facilities
2. Comprehensive care for all age groups, especially school‑age children; infant care in family settings
3. Financially self‑supporting programs
4. Paid professional and/or paraprofessional staff with community involvement
5. The use of space in school buildings

Education

Goal: A high standard of education with due regard to the financial position of the town.

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

Environmental Quality

Goal:  Improvement and protection of Wayland’s natural resources

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. Conservation of the marshes of the Sudbury River and its tributaries
2. Efforts to recycle waste materials in the most efficient manner
3. Water conservation measures through education, publicity, and water‑saving devices
4. Water Protection Districts
5. Education for proper maintenance procedures for septic systems
6. Collection and consolidation of underground storage tank information
7. Standard procedures for tank installation permits  
8. Where appropriate, qualified independent verification of microwave radiation; notification of radar testing; and requiring new permits for new microwave radiation systems on old or new structures.

Goal: To develop more adequate and efficient waste management systems with the following criteria:

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

Support of mandatory recycling and a comprehensive effort toward source reduction; and composting, either singly or with other communities, on an environmentally suitable site; compost materials may be collected on‑site and/or trucked in from a collection site.

Housing

Goal: Low‑cost, town‑wide, well‑planned, locally‑controlled housing for the elderly and for people of low, moderate, and middle income, taking into account land use concerns, equitable management, and tenant selection, and an emphasis on preserving Wayland’s water supply.

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. Legislation requiring developers to include a percentage of their development for persons of low/moderate income
2. Adhering to a 10% subsidized housing rule for all new developments
3. Encouraging private, civic, and church groups to work toward providing land, monies, etc. for housing in Wayland
4. Developing by‑laws that make low/moderate income housing more feasible

Goal:    Improved functioning of the Housing Authority within the Town of Wayland.

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. Early communication and involvement with neighborhoods by the Housing Authority
2. Improved communication between the Housing Authority and Town boards
3. Long‑range planning by Town boards and the Housing Authority for subsidized housing in Wayland
4. A local tenants’ organization
5. The establishment of a more effective grievance procedures

Land Use

Goal: Effective land use in Wayland.

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. The establishment of a committee to study and make recommendations regarding disposition/use of Town‑owned land. Committee should include, but need not be limited to, representatives from each board that has land jurisdiction.
2. Periodic and comprehensive review of the Zoning By‑Laws and zoned areas by appropriate Town boards and committees
3. The following criteria for the Zoning By‑Laws:
   1. Low noise level
   2. Aesthetics
   3. Safety
   4. Traffic patterns
   5. Control and protection of wetlands
4. Special permits rather than variances to upgrade nonconforming use
5. Inclusion of appropriate physical, environmental, and public facility impact statements in any zoning law
6. A flexible on‑going planning process as opposed to a contained Master Plan, undertaken by the Planning Board with emphases on citizen participation
7. The Planned Development By‑Law, adopted in 1974
8. Elimination of all references to the word “family” in the Wayland Zoning By‑Laws and recommendation of a more neutral term such as “housekeeping unit”
9. Actively working to sell tax title land after a review and evaluation of each parcel
10. The following uses of the old landfill:
    1. retention of access to the railroad
    2. development as a Town recreation area by Park and Recreat

Public Safety

Goal:   High standards and improved practices of public safety.

Goal:   Better education of townspeople, parents, children, and school personnel regarding school bus safety issues and implementation of school bus safety.

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:   

1. Assuring safety at bus stops and creating safer bus stop locations
2. Using Town Safety Officer for bus safety education and monitoring bus stops
3. Bus drivers having more training and stricter screening before hiring; special needs drivers having equipment and training for handling passenger emergencies; and adequate and operating equipment on 7D vehicles
4. Consistent and enforced guidelines for behavior on school buses
5. Properly trained and equipped crossing guards at all crucial areas
6. Adequately cleared and sanded roads during snowy weather
7. A written policy defining procedures for notifying parents of accident, breakdown, or change in regular schedule
8. More education on the use of seatbelts
9. Educate motorists about the illegality of passing school buses and other safety issues

Recreation

Goal:    Improved and coordinated recreational facilities with due regard to the financial position of the Town.

Regional Planning

Goal:    Preservation of Wayland’s character and identity.

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. Recognition of Wayland’s relationship and responsibilities to its region generally and the Boston area specifically
2. Measures designed to foster planned growth, land use, recreational facilities, and adequate public transportation.

Representative Government

Goal:    Good communications between town boards and citizens.

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. Posting of committee and board meetings
2. Availability to citizens of information concerning formulation of policies and decisions of Town committees and boards.
3. Availability of agendas and minutes
4. Publication of Town Report in advance of Town Meeting
5. A more consistently open notification and interviewing process for filling vacancies on Town boards and committees
6. Regularly scheduled joint meetings of related Town boards and superintendents
7. Talent search committee within the Town to recruit qualified candidates for public office

Goal:    Improved election procedures

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. A training program for poll workers
2. Continued watchfulness over registration
3. A caucus system to nominate candidates for Town office to improve citizen involvement in Town government. The caucuses should be open to anyone able to attend, and candidates could choose to run whether or not nominated at the caucus.

Goal:    Improved procedures for Town Meeting

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. A standard form of motion that creates committees at Town Meeting
2. 10:30 p.m. as the regular time for adjournment
3. A time delay between the motion to reconsider an article and action on it
4. Encouraging the use of “same view” reports
5. A procedure whereby, upon a motion to close debate, the moderator asks how many persons still wish to speak
6. Inclusion of pros and cons of each money article within the warrant
7. The following measures to improve the Open Town Meeting:
   1. Limit the length of time one person is allowed to speak to an article
   2. Limit the number of times a person can speak to an article
   3. The motion to end debate at Town Meeting should require a majority vote instead of a two‑thirds (2/3) vote
   4. The use of a facilitator or timekeeper to assist in the suggested procedures to limit debate
   5. The use of pro and con microphones
8. The following measures were suggested to improve the warrant:
   1. Make it shorter 
   2. If the Finance Committee does not recommend an article, the sponsors should be allowed to write the supporting view
   3. Warrant hearings should become an important publicized event, to be a vehicle for discussion and understanding of the issues in the warrant before Town Meeting occurs

Goal:    Strengthening the Executive Branch of Town Government

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. The concept of strengthening the central administrative position in Wayland town government, with limits to the ways in which authority and power can be administered.
2. Strengthening the following aspects of the powers of the administrative position:
   1. daily oversight of department heads
   2. input to budget process of all departments and coordinate fiscal efficiencies
   3. facilitation of communication between various town boards and departments, including those boards and departments not currently under the jurisdiction of the Board of Selectmen
   4. input into the hiring and firing of department heads, replacement in the case of a department vacancy, and self replacement, all in concert with the responsible elected or appointed board members
3. A written contract for the central administrator including the following provisions:
   1. a probationary period long enough for a thorough evaluation process (suggested length, up to 18 months)
   2. a 3 –5 year contract following the probationary period
   3. a process for removal which includes a simple majority vote by the Selectmen after considering input from other boards
4. Codification of Town laws
5. A five‑member Board of Selectmen
6. A by‑law change prohibiting one person from holding more than one elected office at a time
7. A Capital Improvement Program and Budget developed by a separate CIPB Committee
8. A separate Water Department
9. Clear definition of Highway Department and Recreation Department tasks
10. Reorganization and reassignment of personnel, including mechanics, equipment, and space by the Highway Department and the Park and Recreation Department

Goal: improved efficiency of Wayland’s Town Government

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. Increased openness in Personnel Board functioning
   1. Personnel Board policy guidelines
   2. Personnel Board merit pay raise guidelines
2. Establishment of centralized purchasing
3. Maintenance of a strong Town Administrator
4. Clarification and separation of the elected and clerical positions of the Town Clerk’s position
5. Arrangements for additional clerical help for volunteer Town boards, which need not necessarily be additional personnel
6. Reaffirmation of a Talent Search Committee
7. Reducing conflict between boards. Training in conflict management should be considered.

Goal: Improved Functioning of the Planning Board

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. A recodification of the Zoning By‑Laws of the Town of Wayland
2. The concept that the Planning Board should provide for balanced growth planning, a planning process by which a community can accommodate growth and development and also preserve its natural environment
3. Using every mechanism which is available, financial and procedural, as well as involving committee input to achieve balanced growth planning (optionsshould include a separate subcommittee reporting to the Planning Board and paid consultants which are desirable if financially feasible)
4. Having an odd number of members.

Goal:         Improved Personnel Policies

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. Presentation of understandable and realistic figures of personnel costs published in the Warrant
2. Hiring of a professional negotiator if the Personnel Board perceives a need 

Goal:         Improved Budgeting Process

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. General budget assistance by the Finance Committee to boards before budget guidelines are set
2. Specific budget assistance by the Finance Committee to citizens who submit Warrant Articles
3. A larger role in setting budget priorities by the Capital Planning Committee
4. Keeping the Finance Committee as a board appointed by the Selectmen

Goal:         Encouragement and Support of Volunteerism

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. Facilitating cable video of Town events
2. A caucus system for nominating persons for elective positions
3. The widest possible economically feasible distribution of application forms for volunteers who wish to serve in Town government. Suggested distribution places are: TownReports, Warrant, Know Your Town, with water bills, Welcome Wagon, Town Hall Library
4. Taking a role in seeing that volunteer application forms continue to be distributed over the years
5. Formation of any committee which would help facilitate volunteerism in Town, i.e., the proposed Town Government Committee

Goal:         Charter Commission

The League of Women Voters of Wayland supports:

1. Initiating and/or supporting the process for establishing a Charter Commission for the Town of Wayland
2. Using a home rule method for establishing a Charter so as to assure full citizen participation  

Transportation

Goal:    Increased alternatives to more highways

The League of Women voters of Wayland supports:

1. Improved public transportation through appropriate government action
2. A shift in government funding policies toward public transportation and away from highway construction
3. Education of the citizenry to the importance and use of public transportation
4. Regional transportation planning
5. Continued construction of walkways and bicycle paths
6. A Pathways Planning Committee to formulate and implement a flexible long‑range walkways and bicycle path plan

Revised June 2002, May 2004