How the Falmouth Select Board voted, from the Select Board’s official minutes. 5 Select Board members elected townwide. Onjalé Scott Price joined the board after the May 2021 town election; Doug Jones left. On May 24, 2021 the board chose Doug Brown as Chair and Nancy Taylor as Vice Chair (each by a roll call of four ayes). Covers 32 meetings, May 24 to May 12, 2022.
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.
Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.
May 9Adopt the amended order of betterment for the sewer…Motion: To adopt the amended order of betterment for the sewer system…Passed · see note
May 9, 2022: Adopt the amended order of betterment for the sewer system area, 4/25/22 public hearing that was continued
Adopt orderPassed · No count or names in the minutes
To adopt the amended order of betterment for the sewer system area, 4/25/22 public hearing that was continued. Public Comment: Marc Finneran asked if someone has a lot that has the ability to have more dwellings built upon it, will they be let in for free. Already planned, apportioned a dwelling unit assignment and assessed. Ms. English Braga said the betterment is for the connection to the sewer system.
The minutes record this motion but no vote on it.
From the minutes
“Ms. English Braga motion to adopt the amended order of betterment for the sewer system area, 4/25/22 public hearing that was continued..” (Motion: Braga)
Apr 25Approve minutes: Executive Session: April 11, 2022 (#1 and…Motion: approval and not release for public access.Passed 4–0 · Abstained: Taylor
April 25, 2022: Approve minutes: Executive Session: April 11, 2022 (#1 and #2) Session 1
ApprovePassed · 4–0
Approval and not release for public access.
Yes: Braga, Brown, Patterson, PriceAbstained: Taylor
From the minutes
“Mr. Patterson motion approval and not release for public access. Second Ms. Scott Price. Vote: Yes-4. No-0. Abstain-1. (Dr. Taylor).” (Motion: Patterson, second: Price)
Apr 25Approve and release minutes: Executive Session: April 11, 2022…Motion: approval and release for public access.Passed 4–0 · Abstained: Taylor
April 25, 2022: Approve and release minutes: Executive Session: April 11, 2022 (#1 and #2) Session 1
ApprovePassed · 4–0
Approval and release for public access.
Yes: Braga, Brown, Patterson, PriceAbstained: Taylor
From the minutes
“Mr. Patterson motion approval and release for public access. Second Ms. Scott Price. Vote: Yes-4. No-0. Abstain-1. (Dr. Taylor).” (Motion: Patterson, second: Price)
Apr 11Approve 2022 Seasonal/Annual License Renewals SEASONAL COMMON VICTUALLER LICENSEMotion: approval.Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note
April 11, 2022: Approve 2022 Seasonal/Annual License Renewals SEASONAL COMMON VICTUALLER LICENSE
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present
Approval.
The count lists Megan English Braga as absent for this vote, so Megan English Braga is left out of it.
From the minutes
“Ms. Scott Price motion approval. Second Mr. Patterson. Vote: Yes-3. No-0. Absent-2. (Ms. English Braga, Dr. Taylor).” (Motion: Price, second: Patterson)
Apr 11Approve minutes: Public Session - February 14, 2022Motion: approval as edited.Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note
April 11, 2022: Approve minutes: Public Session - February 14, 2022
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present
Approval as edited.
The count lists Megan English Braga as absent for this vote, so Megan English Braga is left out of it.
From the minutes
“Mr. Patterson motion approval as edited. Second Ms. Scott Price. Vote: Yes-3. No-0. Absent2. (Ms. English Braga and Dr. Taylor)..” (Motion: Patterson, second: Price)
Apr 11Approve minutes: Executive Session - March 14, 2022Motion: approval and not release for public access.Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note
April 11, 2022: Approve minutes: Executive Session - March 14, 2022
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present
Approval and not release for public access.
The count lists Megan English Braga as absent for this vote, so Megan English Braga is left out of it.
From the minutes
“Mr. Patterson motion approval and not release for public access. Second Ms. Scott Price. Vote: Yes-3. No-0. Absent-2. (Ms. English Braga, Dr. Taylor).” (Motion: Patterson, second: Price)
Apr 11Approve minutes: Executive Session - March 14, 2022Motion: approval and not release for public access.Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note
April 11, 2022: Approve minutes: Executive Session - March 14, 2022
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present
Approval and not release for public access.
The count lists Megan English Braga as absent for this vote, so Megan English Braga is left out of it.
From the minutes
“Mr. Patterson motion approval and not release for public access. Second Ms. Scott Price. Vote: Yes-3. No-0. Absent-2. (Ms. English Braga, Dr. Taylor).” (Motion: Patterson, second: Price)
Apr 11Approve minutes: Executive Session - March 14, 2022Motion: approval and not release for public access.Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note
April 11, 2022: Approve minutes: Executive Session - March 14, 2022
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present
Approval and not release for public access.
The count lists Megan English Braga as absent for this vote, so Megan English Braga is left out of it.
From the minutes
“Mr. Patterson motion approval and not release for public access. Second Ms. Scott Price. Vote: Yes-3. No-0. Absent-2. (Ms. English Braga, Dr. Taylor).” (Motion: Patterson, second: Price)
Apr 11Approve and release minutes: Executive Session - March 14,…Motion: approval and release for public access.Passed Unanimous, 3 present · see note
April 11, 2022: Approve and release minutes: Executive Session - March 14, 2022
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 3 present
Approval and release for public access.
The count lists Megan English Braga as absent for this vote, so Megan English Braga is left out of it.
From the minutes
“Mr. Patterson motion approval and release for public access. Second Ms. Scott Price. Vote: Yes-3. No-0. Absent-2. (Ms. English Braga, Dr. Taylor).” (Motion: Patterson, second: Price)
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.