Select Board — February 23, 2026

The charter amendment discussion generated sustained tension between the board and library trustees, produced a publicly acknowledged accusation of disingenuousness from the library trustee chair, left three of five public commenters' core questions unanswered, and exposed unresolved legal disagreements about the scope of town manager authority — making this a notably contentious meeting despite the unanimity of its formal votes.

Date Monday, February 23, 2026 Duration 2.8h Speakers 19 Public comments 5 Decisions 8 Spirited

▶ Video 📄 Minutes

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**What Really Happened at Bedford's Select Board Meeting — February 23, 2026**

The agenda listed a charter amendment public hearing. What unfolded was one of the more contentious Select Board meetings Bedford has seen in recent months — and residents who couldn't attend deserve to know what was said, and what wasn't.

The central dispute: a proposed charter amendment that would give the town manager authority to hire and fire the Library Director, shifting that power away from Bedford's elected Library Board of Trustees. The Library Trustees chair, Padma Chowdhury, appeared at the public hearing and stated on the record that she believes the process has been "disingenuous for a long time." Resident Allison Jimmerson asked detailed questions about why the amendment is necessary, expressed disappointment in how the process has been handled, and explicitly asked that her questions be answered openly. The board chair thanked her and moved to the next speaker. None of her questions were addressed on the record. A third resident, Emily Mitchell, spoke in support of the trustees' proposed counter-language. Same result. The hearing was closed. The board has not finalized charter language.

Two other concerns from the same meeting warrant attention. First, a resident raised a pointed concern about proposed charter language that would allow a simple majority of three Select Board members to move town election dates — with no guardrails described. The board did not substantively respond before closing the public hearing. Second, conflicting legal opinions exist about the scope of the town manager's authority over department heads, including the Board of Assessors. Rather than standing behind their own town counsel's interpretation, the board directed the town manager to seek a written second opinion from outside municipal counsel. When your own board doesn't trust its own lawyer's answer, that's worth watching.

On the fiscal side: Bedford's FY27 school budget projects a $490,000 draw from the Special Education Stabilization Fund, on top of a projected $200K–$217K deficit this year. The board acknowledged the situation and directed staff to confirm numbers offline. No formal action was taken. The board also voted unanimously to place 34 warrant articles before Town Meeting — including a shift of three vehicle purchases from free cash to bonding, adding over $1 million in borrowing costs over 10 years. These are decisions that will affect Bedford's finances for years. They deserve full public engagement before Town Meeting.

Feb 23, 2026 2.8h long 19 speakers 5 public comments 8 decisions Spirited

❝ Notable statements ↔ Drag to browse

“Everyone go to their dermatologist after a certain age, at least yearly for skin checks, because one can have precancerous stuff”

— Speaker A (Chair) · Public service announcement at meeting opening ▶ 05:20

“BCAT is an absolute treasure of this town, gives us so much help, so much transparency, so many person hours of recordings. They are an asset that are absolutely worth saving.”

— Speaker M (Dan) · Supporting BCAT during budget discussion and potential future merger ▶ 41:07

“The library board is an independent board... putting that power in the hands of an appointed official versus keeping it with the elected board that was elected specifically to manage the library director”

— Speaker H (Padma - Library Trustee Chair) · Advocating for library trustee authority over library director hiring during charter amendment discussion ▶ 58:29

“I think this whole conversation has been disingenuous for a long time”

— Unidentified speaker · Expressing frustration during heated exchange about town manager authority ▶ 1:11:14

“I don't feel comfortable with [taking power from library trustees and bringing it to select board]”

— Unidentified speaker · Select board liaison to library trustees explaining position on independence ▶ 1:25:16

“This proposal seems eminently reasonable. It will solve most of the problems. People going to walk away unhappy. That's fine”

— Unidentified speaker · Supporting library trustees' proposed charter language modifications ▶ 1:36:06

“I don't understand why you would want to have three people have the ability to move the election for the entire town”

— Unidentified speaker · Criticizing proposed flexibility for select board to change election dates ▶ 1:55:01

“I think now is not the time to be giving away money... I think the effect will be it's now opened up to houses that were built... where a builder can come in and do a pseudo teardown and take advantage of the credit.”

— Speaker A (Chair Paul) · Opposition to historic preservation tax credit ▶ 2:24:32

“I also want to thank the schools. I know you and me, Paul, were in the Fiscal Planning Coordinating Committee, and I do appreciate the effort to get down to 3.08.”

— Unidentified speaker · Praise for school budget negotiations ▶ 2:18:07

“We are cautiously optimistic that the need to draw on the stabilization fund should be much lower than is currently embedded in the current budget proposal.”

— Speaker R (Cliff) · Special education funding outlook ▶ 2:22:00

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