To see if the Town will vote to establish a study group to evaluation current civic participation practices in Arlington, best practices in other communities, and findings of the Community Equity Audit, and to develop strategies that will remove barriers and encourage residents to volunteer and/or run for elected office.  The goal of this study group would be to make recommendations to the Select Board, Town Manager, Town Meeting, Town Appointing bodies and the School Committee on topics that include, but are not limited to:

·         Existing barriers to civic engagement;

·         Volunteer/candidate development, including recruitment, training, and retention;

·         Standardized recruitment and appointment practices that prioritize diversity and inclusion;

·         The pros and cons of term limits;

·         Best practices for advertising open positions;

·         Specific policy and bylaw changes needed to achieve and identified improvements

at the next Annual Town Meeting; or take any action related thereto.

(Inserted at the request of Elizabeth Dray and ten registered voters)

(5 - 0)

The petitioner of this article requested its withdrawal following the recommendations of the Town Equity Audit.  The Select Board concurs that the intent of the article is well covered by impending civic engagement work following the audit.