1 March, 2017
Hopkinton Town Clerk, Connor Degan sent the below notice correcting a notice sent out on February 17th. The February 17th notice stated that the open seat for the Hopkinton Housing Authority would not be an elected position due to new state regulations but since that notice was sent out, it has been determined that Hopkinton is unaffected by the changes at the state level therefore the Hopkinton Housing Authority open seat WILL be up for election in the upcoming Annual Town Election! View the update sent out by the Town Clerk below.
"On February 17, 2017, the Town Clerk issued a notice related to a statutory change amending the composition of most Local Housing Authorities throughout the Commonwealth, to include one member appointed by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), three members elected by the voters and one tenant member elected or appointed in accordance with DHCD regulations. This notice was issued in accordance with recent guidance issued by DHCD and the State Elections Division, which takes the position that town-wide elections cannot be used to elect the fifth member of a local housing authority, even though no DHCD regulations have been issued, because the statute reserves that seat for a tenant member. This guidance, however, does not take into consideration that the composition of the Hopkinton Housing Authority (HHA) is governed by the Town’s Home Rule Charter, and not state law. The Town Charter provides for four (4) members to be elected by the Town’s voters. Because the Charter supersedes the state statute, the composition of the HHA is unaffected by the statutory change. Therefore, the HHA Commissioner seat expiring in May 2017 will be up for election by the voters of the Town of Hopkinton at the upcoming Annual Town Election. Please do not hesitate to contact my office with any questions.
Sincerely,
Connor B. Degan
Town Clerk
Town Clerk's Office
Town of Hopkinton
18 Main Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748
Phone: 508-497-9710
Fax: 508-497-9786
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am to 7:00 pm
Friday 8:00 am to 2:00 pm"
