How the Ayer Select Board voted, from the Select Board’s official minutes. 3 Select Board members elected townwide for three-year terms. On May 1, 2018 the board chose Jannice Livingston as Chair, Christopher Hillman as Vice-Chair and Scott Houde as Clerk (each 3-0). The town has not posted the board’s minutes for most of 2019: only January 15 and February 5, 2019 are online. Covers 14 meetings, May 1 to February 5, 2019.
A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.
What does the Select Board do? It is the town’s executive board. It prepares the Town Meeting warrant (the list of articles voters decide), appoints members of many town boards, hires the town’s top staff, signs warrants to pay town bills, and grants licenses and permits.
Town Meeting, not the Select Board, votes the town budget and town bylaws.
Under the state Open Meeting Law, boards post notice at least 48 hours ahead, not counting weekends and legal holidays.
What Town Meeting decided
In Ayer, Town Meeting — not the Select Board — votes the town budget, bylaws and zoning. Here is what it did with each article, in the Town Clerk’s own words. Any registered voter can take part, and most votes are by voice or show of hands, so there is no list of who voted which way.
Special Fall Town Meeting · October 27, 2025 10 votes: 10 passed
Art. 6Appropriate $14,108,177 for the FY2026 Ayer Shirley Regional School District assessment and $1,195,303 for school building debtPassed“Moderator passed article unanimously.”
Art. 16Transfer $1,234,740.75 from free cash: $584,740.75 to Stabilization and $650,000 to Capital StabilizationPassed“Passed unanimously by the Moderator.”
Not here yet: The April 27, 2026 Annual Town Meeting and the July 13, 2026 Special Town Meeting are not here yet because the Town Clerk's record of their votes is not posted online; the Fall Special Town Meeting is set for October 26, 2026.
Titles are short descriptions of each article from the official record; the quoted words are the Town Clerk’s. A vote at Town Meeting is not the final word on everything: some articles also need a ballot vote (such as a tax override) or the Attorney General’s approval (bylaws).
"At X of Y meetings" counts the members the minutes list as present at the start of each meeting in this record. Members who step out are listed on each meeting page.
Meetings
About missing minutes
Loaded: Ayer Select Board minutes from January 9, 2018 through September 15, 2026: 179 meetings and 1,496 votes. Minutes from 2025 on are in the town’s Agenda Center; minutes for 1990–2024 are in the town’s Document Center (Agendas, Minutes and Packets › Minutes › Select Board), and the old town website’s archive also has Board of Selectmen minutes for 2009–2015; MassVoter loaded January 2018 on. The board was the Board of Selectmen until 2020; its minutes are headed “Ayer Select Board” from June 17, 2020. The town also posts one-page “Select Board Meeting Highlights,” which say they are not the official record or the minutes; MassVoter does not use them. Not online: the minutes of nearly every 2019 meeting (only January 15 and February 5, 2019 are posted, though agendas and Highlights show about 20 more meetings that year), and of the meetings of August 14 and October 16, 2018, September 21, 2021, and November 19 and December 3, 2024 (agendas posted; later minutes approve most of them); MassVoter is asking the town for them. Also not here: executive-session minutes; cancelled meetings (October 18, 2022 and December 2, 2025); the board’s joint budget forums with the Finance Committee, which mostly have no minutes (the town notes for March 25, 2026 that minutes were not recorded); and the votes of the Finance Committee, Planning Board, Board of Health and other boards at joint meetings. Minutes after September 15, 2026 are not posted yet. The minutes are scanned, signed copies; MassVoter read them with text recognition, compared that reading with the text layer the town’s scanner added (2018 to March 2026), and checked the page images where the two differed. Ayer’s minutes name the mover and seconder and give a count (“Motion passed 3-0.”); a count that equals the members present, with no one voting no or abstaining, is shown as each of them voting yes. Executive-session votes and the 2020–2022 remote meetings use roll calls by name (“Roll Call: S. Copeland, aye; S. Houde, aye; J. Livingston, aye”), shown by name, including the two split votes and four named abstentions in the record. Members who arrived late or stepped out are not shown in the votes they missed. Where the count does not fit the members present or the minutes do not say who abstained (“Motion passed 2-0-1”), we show the count only (8 votes); where a joint vote with another board gives one combined count, we show the result only (4 votes). A motion with no recorded outcome is not counted as a vote. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote.
Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.
Dec 4Appoint Mr. Jonathan Kranz to the vacant position on…Motion: Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by…Passed · see note
December 4, 2018: Appoint Mr. Jonathan Kranz to the vacant position on the Ayer Planning Board until the next election in April of 2019
AppointPassed · No count or names in the minutes
Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to appoint Mr. Jonathan Kranz to the vacant position on the Ayer Planning Board until the next election in April of 2019. Motion passed 4-0.
The count (4-0) is a combined count of the Select Board and the other board at this joint meeting, so it does not show how each Select Board member voted. Showing the result only.
From the minutes
“Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to appoint Mr. Jonathan Kranz to the vacant position on the Ayer Planning Board until the next election in April of 2019. Motion passed 4-0..” (Motion: Houde, second: Livingston)
Sep 11Appoint Mr. Mark Phillips to the Conservation Commission to…Motion: Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by…Passed 2–0 · see note
September 11, 2018: Appoint Mr. Mark Phillips to the Conservation Commission to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mr. Bill Daniels
AppointPassed · 2–0
Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to appoint Mr. Mark Phillips to the Conservation Commission to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mr. Bill Daniels. Motion passed 2-0
Yes: Houde, LivingstonChristopher R. Hillman arrived at 7:39 PM, after this vote, and is not shown voting.
From the minutes
“Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to appoint Mr. Mark Phillips to the Conservation Commission to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mr. Bill Daniels. Motion passed 2-0.” (Motion: Houde, second: Livingston)
Sep 11Approve the Warrant for the October 6, 2018 Special…Motion: Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by…Passed 2–0 · see note
September 11, 2018: Approve the Warrant for the October 6, 2018 Special Election for the ASRSD Field Project
ApprovePassed · 2–0
Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to approve the Warrant for the October 6, 2018 Special Election for the ASRSD Field Project. Motion passed 2-0
Yes: Houde, LivingstonChristopher R. Hillman arrived at 7:39 PM, after this vote, and is not shown voting.
From the minutes
“Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to approve the Warrant for the October 6, 2018 Special Election for the ASRSD Field Project. Motion passed 2-0.” (Motion: Houde, second: Livingston)
Sep 11Approve the one year extension for the Chapter 90…Motion: Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by…Passed 2–0 · see note
September 11, 2018: Approve the one year extension for the Chapter 90 contract between the Town of Ayer and PJ Albert, Inc. with signature by the Chair
ApprovePassed · 2–0
Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to approve the one year extension for the Chapter 90 contract between the Town of Ayer and PJ Albert, Inc. with signature by the Chair. Motion passed 2-0.
Yes: Houde, LivingstonChristopher R. Hillman arrived at 7:39 PM, after this vote, and is not shown voting.
From the minutes
“Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to approve the one year extension for the Chapter 90 contract between the Town of Ayer and PJ Albert, Inc. with signature by the Chair. Motion passed 2-0..” (Motion: Houde, second: Livingston)
Sep 11Appoint R. Pontbriand as the ADA Coordinator and to…Motion: Motion: A motion was made by J. Livingston to appoint R.…Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note
September 11, 2018: Appoint R. Pontbriand as the ADA Coordinator and to adopt the ADA Grievance Procedure as presented
AppointPassed · Unanimous, 3 present
Motion: A motion was made by J. Livingston to appoint R. Pontbriand as the ADA Coordinator and to adopt the ADA Grievance Procedure as presented. Motion passed 3-0
The minutes do not name a seconder.
From the minutes
“Motion: A motion was made by J. Livingston to appoint R. Pontbriand as the ADA Coordinator and to adopt the ADA Grievance Procedure as presented. Motion passed 3-0.” (Motion: Livingston)
Jul 17Approve the meeting minutes from June 19, 2018Motion: Motion: A motion was made by J. Livingston and seconded by…Passed 2–0 · see note
July 17, 2018: Approve the meeting minutes from June 19, 2018
Approve minutesPassed · 2–0
Motion: A motion was made by J. Livingston and seconded by S. Houde to approve the meeting minutes from June 19, 2018. Motion passed 2-0-1
The minutes give the count as 2-0-1 but do not say who voted no or abstained. Showing the count only.
From the minutes
“Motion: A motion was made by J. Livingston and seconded by S. Houde to approve the meeting minutes from June 19, 2018. Motion passed 2-0-1.” (Motion: Livingston, second: Houde)
Jul 17Approve the meeting minutes from June 26, 2018Motion: Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by…Passed 2–0 · see note
July 17, 2018: Approve the meeting minutes from June 26, 2018
Approve minutesPassed · 2–0
Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to approve the meeting minutes from June 26, 2018. Motion passed 2-0-1.
The minutes give the count as 2-0-1 but do not say who voted no or abstained. Showing the count only.
From the minutes
“Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to approve the meeting minutes from June 26, 2018. Motion passed 2-0-1..” (Motion: Houde, second: Livingston)
Jun 26Nominate Mr. Chris Prehl for appointment to the vacant…Motion: Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by…Passed · see note
June 26, 2018: Nominate Mr. Chris Prehl for appointment to the vacant seat on the Nashoba Valley Technical School Committee, term to expire March 31,2019
AppointPassed · No count or names in the minutes
Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to nominate Mr. Chris Prehl for appointment to the vacant seat on the Nashoba Valley Technical School Committee, term to expire March 31,2019. Motion passed 4-0
The count (4-0) is a combined count of the Select Board and the other board at this joint meeting, so it does not show how each Select Board member voted. Showing the result only.
From the minutes
“Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to nominate Mr. Chris Prehl for appointment to the vacant seat on the Nashoba Valley Technical School Committee, term to expire March 31,2019. Motion passed 4-0.” (Motion: Houde, second: Livingston)
Jun 26Nominate Ms. Andrea Fontaine for appointment to the vacant…Motion: Motion: A motion was made by J. Livingston and seconded by…Passed · see note
June 26, 2018: Nominate Ms. Andrea Fontaine for appointment to the vacant Alternate seat on the Nashoba Valley Technical School Committee, term to expire March 31,2019
AppointPassed · No count or names in the minutes
Motion: A motion was made by J. Livingston and seconded by S, Houde to nominate Ms. Andrea Fontaine for appointment to the vacant Alternate seat on the Nashoba Valley Technical School Committee, term to expire March 31,2019. Motion passed 4-0.
The count (4-0) is a combined count of the Select Board and the other board at this joint meeting, so it does not show how each Select Board member voted. Showing the result only.
From the minutes
“Motion: A motion was made by J. Livingston and seconded by S, Houde to nominate Ms. Andrea Fontaine for appointment to the vacant Alternate seat on the Nashoba Valley Technical School Committee, term to expire March 31,2019. Motion passed 4-0..” (Motion: Livingston, second: Houde)
Jun 19Approve the BOS minutes from June 5, 2018Motion: Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by…Passed 3–0 · see note
June 19, 2018: Approve the BOS minutes from June 5, 2018
Approve minutesPassed · 3–0
Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to approve the BOS minutes from June 5, 2018. Motion passed 3-0.
The minutes give the count as 3-0, but 2 members were at the meeting (Jannice L. Livingston and Scott A. Houde), and they do not say who did not vote. Showing the count only.
From the minutes
“Motion: A motion was made by S. Houde and seconded by J. Livingston to approve the BOS minutes from June 5, 2018. Motion passed 3-0..” (Motion: Houde, second: Livingston)
From the Ayer Select Board’s official minutes, posted in the town’s Agenda Center (2025 on) and Document Center (Agendas, Minutes and Packets › Minutes › Select Board, 2018–2024). We check every vote against the Select Board members present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos (the town’s website has no Select Board photos): stills from Ayer Public Access Corporation (APAC) videos — Chris Tavares (June 24, 2026 Select Board meeting, behind his nameplate), Jannice Livingston (August 31, 2026 Select Board meeting, behind her nameplate) and Shaun Copeland (APAC’s “Scout Finds Out” episode titled with his name, about 2019–20). Cropped by MassVoter. Former members show initials.