How the Falmouth Select Board voted, from the Select Board’s official minutes. 5 Select Board members elected townwide. Same five members after the May 2018 town election. On May 21, 2018 the board chose Susan Moran as Chair (nominated by Doug Jones) and Megan English Braga as Vice Chair (nominated by Sam Patterson), each 5-0. Covers 33 meetings, May 21 to May 20, 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.
In Falmouth, 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. Town Meeting members are elected by precinct; counts are from the town’s electronic voting.
Annual Town Meeting · April 6, 2026 35 votes: 31 passed, 1 passed as amended, 1 failed, 2 indefinitely postponed
Art. 20Fund design and construction of the Northeast Maravista and Teaticket Path Peninsula sewer service areaIndefinitely postponed“Indefinite Postponement”
Art. 21Appropriate $4,915,000 for the North Falmouth Elementary School roof replacement and leak damagePassed as amended“By a unanimous vote”
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: Select Board minutes (called the Board of Selectmen until 2020) from January 2, 2018 through August 17, 2026, from the town’s CivicClerk meeting portal, which holds the same minutes files as the town’s old Agenda Center (minutes back to August 2004; MassVoter has loaded January 2018 on). Also loaded: joint meetings (Finance Committee, Board of Health, Planning Board, School Committee, Zoning Board of Appeals), strategic-planning workshops and two public meetings. Not here: minutes the town has not posted (about 39 calendar dates since 2018 have an agenda but no minutes, most of them workshops, executive sessions or community events, but also business meetings such as December 19, 2024 and March 5, 2025); two files posted as minutes that are the board’s Strategic Plan (June 28, 2018 and July 1, 2019); released executive-session minutes; and every meeting after August 17, 2026 (Falmouth usually posts minutes about six weeks after a meeting). Falmouth’s minutes are typed. Most give the mover and seconder and a count (“Vote: Yes-5. No-0.”); during the remote meetings of 2020-2021 and for executive-session votes they give a roll call by name (“Roll Call Vote: Ms. Moran, aye; Mr. Jones, aye; ...”). When the count matches the members present, we show every member present as voting yes, and when the minutes name the members who voted no or abstained (“Yes-4. No-1 (Mr. Jones)”), everyone else present as voting yes. Where the minutes give only a split count without names, a roll call leaves out a member who was there or names one who was not, or the count does not match the members present, we show the count only and add a note. Motions with no vote written down are shown with no count. Members who stepped aside (recused) or were out of the room are left out of that vote. Votes taken by other boards at joint meetings are not included. A few meetings have no attendance list; there the members present are taken from the roll calls, with a note. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote.
The minutes say 4-0, but 5 members were present for this vote (Susan Moran, Megan English Braga, Doug Jones, Sam Patterson and Doug Brown). Showing the count only.
From the minutes
“Mr. Jones motion to appoint Mr. McCormack. Second Mr. Patterson. Vote: Yes-4. No-0..” (Motion: Jones, second: Patterson)
May 20Approve all to a term expiring April, 2020Motion: To approve all to a term expiring April, 2020.Passed 5–0 · see note
May 20, 2019: Approve all to a term expiring April, 2020
ApprovePassed · 5–0
To approve all to a term expiring April, 2020.
The minutes say 5-0, but 4 members were present for this vote (Susan Moran, Doug Jones, Sam Patterson and Doug Brown). Showing the count only. Megan English Braga stepped aside (recused) and did not take part in this vote.
From the minutes
“Mr. Jones motion to approve all to a term expiring April, 2020. Second Chair Moran. Vote: Yes-5. No-0..” (Motion: Jones, second: Moran)
May 6Convene the executive session under 1Motion: To convene the executive session under 1. M.G.L. c. 30A, s.…Passed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 6, 2019: Convene the executive session under 1
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 4 present
To convene the executive session under 1. M.G.L. c. 30A, s. 21(a)(3) - review and discuss settlement proposals for the following litigation: Quinn v. Town of Falmouth and Lessard v. Falmouth Public Schools (MCAD) because to not go into executive session could prejudice ongoing negotiations.
The count lists Doug Brown as absent for this vote, so Doug Brown is left out of it.
From the minutes
“Chair Moran called the open session to order at 6:30 p.m. and motioned to convene the executive session under 1. M.G.L. c. 30A, s. 21(a)(3) - review and discuss settlement proposals for the following litigation: Quinn v. Town of Falmouth and Lessard v. Falmouth Public Schools (MCAD) because to not go into executive session could prejudice ongoing negotiations. Mr. Jones seconded the motion. It was followed by a unanimous roll call vote in Open Session to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the abovelisted items, and to return to Open Session after discussion. Roll call vote: Mr. Patterson, aye; Ms. English Braga aye; Chairman Moran, aye; Mr. Jones, aye. Absent: Mr. Brown..” (Motion: Moran, second: Jones)
May 6Convene the executive session under 1Motion: To convene the executive session under 1. M.G.L. c. 30A, s.…Passed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 6, 2019: Convene the executive session under 1
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 4 present
To convene the executive session under 1. M.G.L. c. 30A, s. 21(a)(3) - review and discuss settlement proposals for the following litigation: Quinn v. Town of Falmouth and Lessard v. Falmouth Public Schools (MCAD) because to not go into executive session could prejudice ongoing negotiations.
The count lists Doug Brown as absent for this vote, so Doug Brown is left out of it.
From the minutes
“Chair Moran called the open session to order at 6:30 p.m. and motioned to convene the executive session under 1. M.G.L. c. 30A, s. 21(a)(3) - review and discuss settlement proposals for the following litigation: Quinn v. Town of Falmouth and Lessard v. Falmouth Public Schools (MCAD) because to not go into executive session could prejudice ongoing negotiations. Mr. Jones seconded the motion. It was followed by a unanimous roll call vote in Open Session to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the above-listed items, and to return to Open Session after discussion. Roll call vote: Mr. Patterson, aye; Ms. English Braga aye; Chairman Moran, aye; Mr. Jones, aye. Absent: Mr. Brown..” (Motion: Moran, second: Jones)
May 6Approve application for special one-day wine and malt liquor…Motion: approval.Passed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 6, 2019: Approve application for special one-day wine and malt liquor license and Sunday entertainment license - British Beer Company - Road Race Beer Garden - Sunday, 8/18/19
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 4 present
Approval.
Doug Brown stepped aside (recused) and did not take part in this vote.
From the minutes
“Mr. Jones motion approval. Second Ms. English Braga. Vote: Yes-4. No-0. Recused: 1. (Mr. Brown).” (Motion: Jones, second: Braga)
May 6Support the recommendation of the Hearing OfficerMotion: To support the recommendation of the Hearing Officer.Failed 2–3 · No: Braga, Brown, Moran
May 6, 2019: Support the recommendation of the Hearing Officer
ApproveFailed · 2–3
To support the recommendation of the Hearing Officer.
Yes: Jones, PattersonNo: Braga, Brown, Moran
From the minutes
“Mr. Jones motion to support the recommendation of the Hearing Officer. Second Mr. Patterson. Vote: Yes-2. No-3. (Mr. Brown, Ms. English Braga, Chair Moran)..” (Motion: Jones, second: Patterson)
From the Falmouth Select Board’s official minutes, posted on the town’s Agenda and Meeting Management portal (CivicClerk), linked from the Select Board page. We check every vote against the Select Board members present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos: The Falmouth Enterprise (capenews.net), by Gene M. Marchand and Devin Ankeney, and an Enterprise campaign photo of Heather Goldstone.