MassVoter.com← NorwoodMunicipal votes · 2026–2027 Board
Norwood Board of Selectmen
How the Norwood Board of Selectmen voted, from the Board of Selectmen’s official minutes. 5 Selectmen elected townwide. Cheryl Doyle joined the board after the April 6, 2026 town election, and Michael Saad was re-elected; William Plasko left. On April 14, 2026 the board chose Matthew Lane as Chair and Robert Donnelly as Vice Chair. Covers 8 meetings so far, April 14 to July 14, 2026.
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 budgetVote Transparency Score
Norwood Board of Selectmen: 7 out of 10 · Mostly open
How easy Norwood makes it to see, online, how each member votes. It scores the town’s records, not any official. Checked October 6, 2026.
- Minutes postedMinutes are posted for most, but not all, meetings in the past year.Part points: 1/2
- Each vote namedThe minutes name how each Selectman voted.Full points: 3/3
- Posted quicklyMinutes usually go up within about one to two months.Part points: 1/2
- Past years onlineSeveral years of minutes are online.Full points: 1/1
- Readable textThe minutes are text you can search and copy.Full points: 1/1
- Member photosThe board page shows a group photo without names.No points: 0/1
How the town can raise its score
- Minutes posted (+1): Post approved minutes for every meeting on the town website. Don’t require a sign-in to view them.
- Posted quickly (+1): Post minutes within 30 days. If approval takes longer, post a draft marked “Draft – not yet approved” and replace it later.
- Member photos (+1): Show a photo of each member on the board’s web page, with their name, the date their term ends and how to contact them. A group photo of the members, with everyone named in the caption or on the same page, earns half a point.
How we score · Something wrong, or has the town made a change? Email info@massvoter.com and we’ll re-check.
A monthly email on its votes, starting in November. We'll also tell you if this score changes.
Board years
Coming up
MassVoter can’t read Norwood’s meeting calendar automatically yet. See upcoming meetings on the official site →
Members
ChairMatthew LaneChair · Elected townwide · at 7 of 8 meetings✓ Every meeting 2026
Vice-ChairRobert DonnellyVice Chair · Elected townwide · at 8 of 8 meetings
Cheryl DoyleMember · Elected townwide · at 8 of 8 meetings
Amanda GrowMember · Elected townwide · at 6 of 8 meetings
Michael SaadMember · Elected townwide · at 7 of 8 meetings"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.
Attendance
12 full-board meetings so far this year, through July 14. Ties share a rank.
1Robert Donnelly12 of 12 meetings Every meeting100%1Cheryl Doyle8 of 8 meetings · served from Apr Every meeting100%3Matthew Lane11 of 12 meetings92%4Michael Saad10 of 12 meetings83%5Amanda Grow9 of 12 meetings75%6William Plasko2 of 4 meetings · served until Mar50%24 full-board meetings in 2025. Ties share a rank.
1Robert Donnelly23 of 24 meetings96%1Matthew Lane23 of 24 meetings96%3Amanda Grow22 of 24 meetings92%3Michael Saad22 of 24 meetings92%5William Plasko21 of 24 meetings88%24 full-board meetings in 2024. Ties share a rank.
1Amanda Grow24 of 24 meetings Every meeting100%1Michael Saad24 of 24 meetings Every meeting100%3Robert Donnelly23 of 24 meetings96%3William Plasko23 of 24 meetings96%5Matthew Lane22 of 24 meetings92%26 full-board meetings in 2023. Ties share a rank.
1Amanda Grow26 of 26 meetings Every meeting100%1William Plasko26 of 26 meetings Every meeting100%1Helen Abdallah Donohue6 of 6 meetings · served until Mar Every meeting100%4Michael Saad19 of 20 meetings · served from Apr95%5Robert Donnelly24 of 26 meetings92%5Matthew Lane24 of 26 meetings92%29 full-board meetings in 2022. Ties share a rank.
1Helen Abdallah Donohue29 of 29 meetings Every meeting100%1Amanda Grow20 of 20 meetings · served from Apr Every meeting100%3Matthew Lane28 of 29 meetings97%3William Plasko28 of 29 meetings97%5Robert Donnelly18 of 20 meetings · served from Apr90%6Allan Howard8 of 9 meetings · served until Mar89%6Thomas Maloney8 of 9 meetings · served until Mar89%34 full-board meetings in 2021. Ties share a rank.
1Helen Abdallah Donohue33 of 34 meetings97%1Matthew Lane33 of 34 meetings97%3David Hajjar27 of 28 meetings · served until Oct96%4Thomas Maloney32 of 34 meetings94%4William Plasko32 of 34 meetings94%39 full-board meetings in 2019. Ties share a rank.
1Paul Bishop39 of 39 meetings Every meeting100%1Thomas Maloney39 of 39 meetings Every meeting100%1Helen Abdallah Donohue10 of 10 meetings · served until Mar Every meeting100%4William Plasko38 of 39 meetings97%5David Hajjar26 of 29 meetings · served from Apr90%6Allan Howard33 of 39 meetings85%40 full-board meetings in 2018. Ties share a rank.
1Thomas Maloney39 of 40 meetings98%1William Plasko39 of 40 meetings98%3Helen Abdallah Donohue38 of 40 meetings95%4Paul Bishop36 of 40 meetings90%5Allan Howard33 of 40 meetings83%From the official minutes: full-board meetings only (committee meetings are not counted). Members are counted only for meetings held while they served, and arriving late counts as attending. The minutes rarely say why a member was absent. Not shown: 2020, because too many of that year’s meetings are missing from the posted minutes.
A monthly email on its votes and who was there, starting in November.
Meetings
About missing minutes
Loaded: Board of Selectmen minutes from January 8, 2018 through July 14, 2026 (247 meetings). Some 2020–2026 files are scanned pages, which we read with text recognition. Not here: minutes after July 14, 2026 (August 11, September 8 and September 22, 2026 are not posted yet); no minutes at all from March 24 to September 15, 2020, although the town lists agendas for 17 meetings in that time; February 10, March 3, March 24 (approved April 28, 2026) and June 30, 2026, and December 16, 2025, which have agendas but no minutes; and about a dozen other dates since 2018 with an agenda but no minutes, some of them Town Meeting nights or executive sessions. The March 27, 2018 link opens the February 27, 2018 minutes, so that meeting is missing too. How votes were read: until early 2023 the minutes usually say only who made and seconded a motion and that the board “voted”, with no count; we show those votes as passed with no names, never as unanimous. When the minutes say a vote was unanimous we show every Selectman present as voting yes; when they give a count and name who voted no or abstained, and it adds up to the members present, we show each member’s vote. In early 2023 several minutes say only “Carried”, and we show the result only. From mid-2023 the minutes list each member under Aye, Nay, Abstain or Absent for almost every vote. Where a count does not match the members present, a mover or seconder is missing from the attendance line, or a roll call leaves out a member who was there, we show the count or result only and add a note. Motions written down with no vote after them are not included. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote.
Votes where members disagreed
Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.
Jun 9Approve – Decorative Bagel Sculpture - SPOTMotion: Motion to approve.Passed 3–1 · No: Doyle
June 9, 2026: Approve – Decorative Bagel Sculpture - SPOT
Motion to approve.
Yes: Donnelly, Grow, SaadNo: Doyle
From the minutes
“Motion to approve. Moved by: Amanda Grow Seconded by: Michael Saad Aye Amanda Grow, Robert Donnelly, and Michael Saad. Nay Cheryl Doyle Absent Matthew Lane Carried 3-1.” (Motion: Grow, second: Saad)
May 11Approve the consent agendaMotion: Motion to approve the consent agenda.Passed 5–0 · see note
May 11, 2026: Approve the consent agenda
Motion to approve the consent agenda.
The vote names Michael Saad, who the attendance line shows as absent. Showing the count only.
From the minutes
“Motion to approve the consent agenda. Moved by: Robert Donnelly Seconded by: Cheryl Doyle Aye Amanda Grow, Cheryl Doyle, Robert Donnelly, Matthew Lane, and Michael Saad. Carried 5-0.” (Motion: Donnelly, second: Doyle)
Apr 28Approve – Municipal Light Department - Town of Norwood…Motion: Motion to approve.Passed · see note
April 28, 2026: Approve – Municipal Light Department - Town of Norwood - DPU Report
Motion to approve.
The minutes do not say how this vote came out.
From the minutes
“Motion to approve. Moved by: Michael Saad Seconded by: Cheryl Doyle Aye Amanda Grow, Michael Saad, Cheryl Doyle, Robert Donnelly, and Matthew Lane..” (Motion: Saad, second: Doyle)
Apr 14Support Article 12 project "Shattuck Park Dry Stone Wall…Motion: Motion to support Article 12 project "Shattuck Park Dry Stone Wall…Passed 4–1 · No: Saad
April 14, 2026: Support Article 12 project "Shattuck Park Dry Stone Wall Feasibility Study & Design" on the Annual Town Meeting Yellow Sheet
Motion to support Article 12 project "Shattuck Park Dry Stone Wall Feasibility Study & Design" on the Annual Town Meeting Yellow Sheet.
Yes: Donnelly, Doyle, Grow, LaneNo: Saad
From the minutes
“Motion to support Article 12 project "Shattuck Park Dry Stone Wall Feasibility Study & Design" on the Annual Town Meeting Yellow Sheet. Moved by: Robert Donnelly Seconded by: Cheryl Doyle Aye Amanda Grow, Cheryl Doyle, Robert Donnelly, and Matthew Lane. Nay Michael Saad Carried 4-1.” (Motion: Donnelly, second: Doyle)
From the Norwood Board of Selectmen’s official minutes, posted on the town’s Board of Selectmen minutes page. We check every vote against the Selectmen present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos: campaign websites (Robert Donnelly, Amanda Grow); The Norwood Record (Cheryl Doyle; Michael Saad, photo by Jeff Sullivan); Norwood Community Media (Matthew Lane, from “Fast Facts with Matt Lane”).
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