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Berkley Board of Selectmen
How the Berkley Board of Selectmen voted, from the Board of Selectmen’s official minutes. 3 Selectmen elected townwide. From November 2019 to May 2020 only George F. Miller and Wendy F. Cochrane are listed as Selectmen; Heather Martin-Sterling is last listed in October 2019. Covers 26 meetings, May 1 to May 7, 2020.
A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.
What does the Board of Selectmen 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 Board of Selectmen, votes the town budget and town bylaws.
Sources: Massachusetts Select Board Handbook (MMA) · Mass. Division of Local Services: the town budgetBoard years
Coming up
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What Town Meeting decided
In Berkley, Town Meeting — not the Board of Selectmen — 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.
Annual Town Meeting · June 1, 2026 18 votes: 13 passed, 1 passed as amended, 1 failed, 1 no action, 1 tabled, 1 other
- Art. 3 Appropriate from free cash: $181,758 snow and ice, $50,000 personnel reserve, $460,731 capital items, $1,275 past due bills, $650 planning revolving fund Other “Motion carried unanimously for the past due bills. Approved”
- Art. 4 Borrow up to $900,000 to buy a fire apparatus Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 5 Override stabilization fund and appropriation (only if the override ballot question passed) No action “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 6 FY2027 town operating budget, amended to $7,194,515 from taxation plus $140,000 free cash and $535,000 ambulance fees Passed as amended “motion approved unanimously.”
- Art. 7 FY2027 debt service: $3,867,340 Passed “Motion approved unanimously.”
- Art. 8 FY2027 school budgets (Berkley K-8, Bristol-Plymouth, Bristol Aggie): $12,821,271 from taxation Passed “Motion approved unanimously.”
- Art. 9 Somerset-Berkley Regional School District assessment: $3,123,111 from district stabilization fund Passed “Motion approved unanimously.”
- Art. 10 Set FY2027 spending limits for revolving funds Passed “Motion approved unanimously.”
- Art. 11 Let the Board of Selectmen accept and contract for state and federal road funds Passed “Motion approved unanimously.”
- Art. 12 Let assessors hire their own members for annual tax maintenance at $15 per parcel Passed “Motion approved unanimously.”
- Art. 13 Accept additional property tax exemptions (up to 100%) for qualifying residents for FY2027 Passed “Motion approved unanimously.”
- Art. 14 Set Board of Health agent inspection fees Passed “Motion approved unanimously.”
- Art. 15 Rezone 31 Padelford Street and parts of 33, 35 and 35R Padelford Street to General Business Failed “Vote on the article, Motion is defeated.”
- Art. 16 Accept M.G.L. c.200A s.9A: simpler process for abandoned or unclaimed funds Passed “Motion approved unanimously.”
- Art. 17 Raise the senior tax deferral income limit (Clause 41A) and cut its interest rate from 8% to 6% Passed “Motion approved unanimously”
- Art. 18 Amend the Zoning Bylaw use table for Bed & Breakfast (Planning Board special permit) Tabled “Voted to table the article, motion passed to table.”
- Art. 19 Let the Board of Selectmen sell surplus town land at 34 and 44RR Green Street Passed “motion approved unanimously.”
- Art. 20 Let the Board of Selectmen sell other listed surplus town parcels Passed “article approved unanimously.”
Source: Town Clerk's minutes, Annual Town Meeting June 1, 2026.
Special Town Meeting · November 15, 2025 9 votes: 6 passed, 1 withdrawn, 1 no action, 1 other
- Art. 3 Move $15,617.28 within the FY2026 budget to the elected treasurer and collector salary lines Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 4 Add a Residential Development Overlay District (RDOD) to the Zoning Bylaw and Zoning Map Passed “carried unanimously.”
- Art. 5 Allow some business uses by Planning Board special permit for mixed-use development in the RDOD Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 6 Ask the Legislature to increase the Board of Selectmen from three to five members Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 7 Accept an easement at 52 Anthony Street at no cost No action “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 8 Accept 2 Riverside Drive (Map 8, Lot 92-1) by gift for municipal purposes Withdrawn “Motion to withdraw Article 8 carried unanimously.”
- Art. 9 Transfer $3,000 from Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund income for cemetery operations Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 10 Transfer $85,000 from the PEG Access and Cable Related Fund for FY2026 cable operations Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 11 Citizen petition: accept 42nd Street (40B development) as a public way and dissolve its homeowners association Other “Moton carried unanimously.”
Source: Town Clerk's minutes, Special Town Meeting November 15, 2025.
Annual Town Meeting · June 2, 2025 22 votes: 18 passed, 2 failed, 2 tabled
- Art. 3 Appropriate $190,697 from free cash for snow and ice and transfer $60,000 from the post-retirement buyout account to fire chief salaries Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 4 FY2026 town operating budget: $7,776,834 ($7,025,820 taxation, $266,014 general stabilization, $485,000 ambulance fees) Passed “Motion to approve Article 4 was”
- Art. 5 FY2026 debt service: $1,856,510 from taxation Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 6 FY2026 school budgets (Berkley K-8, Bristol-Plymouth, Bristol Aggie): $12,873,930 Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 7 Somerset-Berkley Regional School District assessment: $3,013,899 from high school stabilization Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 8 Set FY2026 spending limits for revolving funds Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 9 Let the Board of Selectmen accept and contract for state and federal road funds Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 10 Let assessors hire their own members for annual tax maintenance at $15 per parcel Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 11 Accept additional property tax exemptions (up to 100%) for qualifying residents for FY2026 Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 12 Set Board of Health agent inspection fees Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 13 Amend the Capital Improvement Planning Committee bylaw (membership, $10,000 review threshold) Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 14 Ask the Legislature for a law allowing recall of elected Berkley officials Passed “unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 15 Amend the Zoning Bylaw use table and Section 4.2.2 (two-, three- and multifamily dwellings) Failed “Motion defeated unanimously.”
- Art. 16 Rezone 33, 35 and 35R Padelford Street to General Business Tabled “Motion to table the article carried”
- Art. 17 Ask the Legislature for five more all-alcohol on-premises liquor licenses Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 18 Citizen petition: exempt town buildings and property from the state “prohibited areas” firearm rule Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 19 Remove the General Bylaws requirement for a Selectmen public hearing before bylaw changes go to Town Meeting Passed “Motion Carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 20 Accept M.G.L. c.60 s.3D: property tax relief fund and Taxation Aid Committee for elderly and disabled residents Passed “Motion passed unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 21 Accept M.G.L. c.59 s.5K: senior property tax work-off program from FY2026 Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 22 Accept M.G.L. c.59 s.5N: veterans property tax work-off program from FY2026 Passed “Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
- Art. 23 Citizen petition: adopt a “Berkley Noise Law” bylaw Failed “Motion failed”
- Art. 24 Discontinue part of Cotley Street (railroad crossing to the Taunton line) as a public way Tabled “Motion to table, No further discussion, Motion carried unanimously. Approved”
Source: Town Clerk's minutes, Annual Town Meeting June 2, 2025.
Special Town Meeting · November 14, 2024 9 votes: 8 passed, 1 tabled
- Art. 2 Accept Ridge Street, part of Shore Road and Cross Road (Pierce’s Point Estates) as public ways and allow acquiring the roads Passed “the Article was approved. · Yes 239 and No 139”
- Art. 3 Add a “Right to Farm” bylaw to the General Bylaws Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 4 Ask the Legislature to combine treasurer and collector into one position appointed by the Board of Selectmen Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 5 Borrow $89,852,556 to design and build a new Berkley Community School, with possible state (MSBA) grant Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 6 Accept M.G.L. c.44 s.53F¾ and set up a PEG Access and Cable Related Fund starting FY2026 Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 7 End the Opioid Settlement Stabilization Fund and put opioid settlement money in a special revenue fund Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 8 Let the Board of Selectmen sell or dispose of surplus town vehicles and equipment Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 9 Amend the Town Contracts bylaw: written contracts at $10,000, advertising above $50,000, surplus sale limit Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 10 Amend the Zoning Bylaw use table and Section 4.2.2 (two-, three- and multifamily dwellings) Tabled “made a motion to table the article. No further”
Source: Town Clerk's minutes, Special Town Meeting November 14, 2024.
Annual Town Meeting · June 3, 2024 15 votes: 12 passed, 2 passed as amended, 1 tabled
- Art. 3 Appropriate $46,438 from free cash: $33,838 snow and ice deficit and $12,600 unpaid bills Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 4 FY2025 town operating budget: $7,351,801 as amended ($6,801,801 taxation, $450,000 ambulance fees, $100,000 general stabilization for EMS) Passed as amended “Motion to approve Article 4 with amendments was carried unanimously.”
- Art. 5 FY2025 debt service: $1,268,564 from taxation Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 6 FY2025 school budgets (Berkley K-8, Bristol-Plymouth, Bristol Aggie): $12,287,735, amended to add $30,000 from stabilization for Berkley school spending Passed as amended “to approve Article 6 with amendments carried unanimously.”
- Art. 7 Somerset-Berkley Regional School District assessment: $3,026,221 ($2,779,717 high school stabilization, $246,504 taxation) Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 8 Set FY2025 spending limits for revolving funds Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 9 Let the Board of Selectmen accept and contract for state and federal road funds Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 10 Let assessors hire their own members for annual tax maintenance at $15 per parcel Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 11 Accept additional property tax exemptions (up to 25%) for qualifying residents for FY2025 Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 12 Set Board of Health agent inspection fees Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 13 Accept M.G.L. c.53 s.18B: mail ballot question information to each voter household Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 14 Library construction grant planning: up to $150,000 ($75,000 free cash, $75,000 library gifts) if the state grant is approved Passed “Motion carried unanimously”
- Art. 15 Accept Ridge Street and part of Shore Road (Pierce’s Point Estates) as public ways Tabled “table Article 15, motion carried unanimously.”
- Art. 16 Amend the Zoning Bylaw (home occupation permits, clerical fixes, marijuana definition, site plan wording) Passed “Motion carried”
- Art. 17 Amend the Zoning Bylaw to follow the Attorney General’s decision (define “reasonable accommodation”) Passed “Motion carried unanimously.”
Source: Town Clerk's minutes, Annual Town Meeting June 3, 2024.
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).
Members
Wendy F. CochraneSelectman · Elected townwide · at 26 of 26 meetingsHeather Martin-SterlingSelectman · Elected townwide · at 11 of 12 meetings · until Oct 2019"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
Covers January 2018 to August 2026. The minutes are scanned documents; we read them with text recognition, so some item titles may read awkwardly; each vote quotes the minutes and links to the page. Most votes are recorded only as “voted,” with the mover and seconder but no count, so we show the result and do not say how each Selectman voted (the same rule we use for every town). Where the minutes name a Selectman voting no or abstaining, the vote’s note says so. Votes where the minutes give each Selectman’s vote are shown by name. Where the minutes name a mover or seconder who is not listed as attending, the vote is noted and individual votes are not shown. Joint votes with other officials (hiring committees, the Personnel Board) are left out. Not here yet: minutes for October 2024 to January 2025 (except January 8 and 23, 2025) are not posted, and the town’s link for November 13, 2023 opens the September 13, 2023 minutes. We will ask the town to confirm the noted votes.
Votes where members disagreed
Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.
May 7Ratify and/or approv: the policy change in regards to…Motion: to ratify and/or approv: the policy change in regards to FY20…Passed · see note
May 7, 2020: Ratify and/or approv: the policy change in regards to FY20 for vacation time for the Treasurer and Accounting Departments
To ratify and/or approv: the policy change in regards to FY20 for vacation time for the Treasurer and Accounting Departments
The minutes record this only as “voted”; they do not give a count or say how each Selectman voted.
From the minutes
“Cochrane motion to ratify and/or approv: the policy change in regards to FY20 for vacation time for the Treasurer and Accounting Departments, Miller 2°9 voted..” (Motion: Cochrane, second: Miller)
May 7Motion to allow the Town Admin to rollover 1…Motion: to allow the Town Admin to rollover 1 week to be…Passed · see note
May 7, 2020: Motion to allow the Town Admin to rollover 1 week to be used by. 12.31.2020
To allow the Town Admin to rollover 1 week to be used by. 12.31.2020
The minutes record this only as “voted”; they do not give a count or say how each Selectman voted.
From the minutes
“Cochrane motion to allow the ‘Town Admin to rollover 1 week to be used by. 12.31.2020 Miller 2™ voted.” (Motion: Cochrane, second: Miller)
Apr 22A to schedule Annual Pown Meeting for i June…Motion: to a to schedule Annual Pown Meeting for i June 29,…Passed · see note
April 22, 2020: A to schedule Annual Pown Meeting for i June 29, 2020, '
To a to schedule Annual Pown Meeting for i June 29, 2020, '
The minutes record this only as “voted”; they do not give a count or say how each Selectman voted.
From the minutes
“Cochrane motioned a | to schedule Annual | Pown Meeting for i June 29, 2020, ' Miller 2™, voted..” (Motion: Cochrane, second: Miller)
Apr 22Motion to on tabled the opening of the warrantMotion: to on tabled the opening of the warrantPassed · see note
April 22, 2020: Motion to on tabled the opening of the warrant
To on tabled the opening of the warrant
The minutes record this only as “voted”; they do not give a count or say how each Selectman voted.
From the minutes
“Cochrane motioned on tabled the opening of the warrant, Miller he 2™ voted.” (Motion: Cochrane)
Apr 15Move Annual Town i Election lo May 16, 2020,…Motion: to move Annual Town i Election lo May 16, 2020, and…Passed · see note
April 15, 2020: Move Annual Town i Election lo May 16, 2020, and to amend the hours to 10am - 2pm Miller Second, : voted
To move Annual Town i Election lo May 16, 2020, and to amend the hours to 10am - 2pm Miller Second, : voted
The minutes record this only as “voted”; they do not give a count or say how each Selectman voted.
From the minutes
“motion to move | Annual Town i Election lo May 16, | 2020, and to amend the hours to 10am - | 2pm Miller Second, : voted..”
Apr 15Motion to approveMotion: to approvePassed · see note
April 15, 2020: Motion to approve
To approve
The minutes record this only as “voted”; they do not give a count or say how each Selectman voted.
From the minutes
“Cochrane motioned to approve, Miller second, voted.” (Motion: Cochrane, second: Miller)
Apr 15Approve a joint petition with TMLP and Verizon fora…Motion: to approve a joint petition with TMLP and Verizon fora new…Passed · see note
April 15, 2020: Approve a joint petition with TMLP and Verizon fora new joint pole location EL29-$ $ Main St Elm St
To approve a joint petition with TMLP and Verizon fora new joint pole location EL29-$ $ Main St Elm St
The minutes record this only as “voted”; they do not give a count or say how each Selectman voted.
From the minutes
“Cochrane motioned to approve a joint petition with TMLP | and Verizon fora | new joint pole | location EL29-$ $ Main St Elm St, : Miller 2, voted..” (Motion: Cochrane)
Apr 15Sign the warrant for Annual Election, Miller 2nd ,…Motion: to sign the warrant for Annual Election, Miller 2nd , votedPassed · see note
April 15, 2020: Sign the warrant for Annual Election, Miller 2nd , voted
To sign the warrant for Annual Election, Miller 2nd , voted
The minutes record this only as “voted”; they do not give a count or say how each Selectman voted.
From the minutes
“motion to sign the warrant for Annual Election, Miller 2", voted..” (second: Miller)
Apr 15Approve the Common use to the Berkley Firefighters Association…Motion: to approve the Common use to the Berkley Firefighters Association for…Passed · see note
April 15, 2020: Approve the Common use to the Berkley Firefighters Association for June 21, 2020 7am - Spm pending Police & Fire Chief Approval and pending social distancing
To approve the Common use to the Berkley Firefighters Association for June 21, 2020 7am - Spm pending Police & Fire Chief Approval and pending social distancing
The minutes record this only as “voted”; they do not give a count or say how each Selectman voted.
From the minutes
“Cochrane motioned to approve the Common use to the Berkley Firefighters Association for June 21, 2020 7am - Spm pending Police & Fire Chief Approval and pending social distancing, Miller 2" voted..” (Motion: Cochrane, second: Miller)
Apr 15Approve the Common use to the Berkley Firefighters on…Motion: to approve the Common use to the Berkley Firefighters on Aug…Passed · see note
April 15, 2020: Approve the Common use to the Berkley Firefighters on Aug 16, 2020 from 7am - Spm pending Police and Fire Chief approval and social distancing
To approve the Common use to the Berkley Firefighters on Aug 16, 2020 from 7am - Spm pending Police and Fire Chief approval and social distancing
The minutes record this only as “voted”; they do not give a count or say how each Selectman voted.
From the minutes
“Cochrane motioned to approve the Common use to the Berkley Firefighters on Aug 16, 2020 from 7am - Spm pending Police and Fire Chief approval and social distancing, Miller 2™ voted.” (Motion: Cochrane, second: Miller)
From the Berkley Board of Selectmen’s official minutes, posted on the town website. We quote the exact wording of each vote. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Member photos: Taunton Daily Gazette (candidate forums, April 2022 and April 2024; Berkley Board of Selectmen meeting, April 2026). Members without a photo show initials.
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