By Bob Katzen

The House gave initial approval to a bill that would allow cities and towns to quickly set a new date for a hearing of any city or town board without being required to give the usual minimum of two weeks notice before the rescheduled meeting.

“Municipal board hearings are extremely important to the residents whose issues are being heard at these meetings,” said sponsor Rep. Tram Nguyen (D-Andover). “Yet when inclement weather or public safety concerns force a municipality to postpone a hearing, the current public notice requirement of two or more weeks results in long delays for citizens anxious for board decisions. This bill gives municipal boards the flexibility to continue the hearing and inform the public of the new date within three days of the postponement, thus allowing the municipality to address their residents’ issues in a timely manner.”