Charter subcommittees advance Town Manager title change

Charter Review Committee · Meeting of September 10, 2026

Grafton's Charter Review Committee heard that Town Administrator Evan Bassad and the Select Board support renaming his position Town Manager. The Article 4 subcommittee also reported unanimous Select Board support, and no objection from the fire chief, for moving fire chief appointment authority to that office, pending a Town Counsel opinion. The Article 3 subcommittee is leaning toward joint Planning Board appointment by the Select Board and remaining Planning Board members, calling a single-official appointment "a bridge too far." Dawn Anderson resigned, and Syama Adhibhatta awaited swearing-in.

The committee approved the July 9 and August 13 minutes 10-0 with two abstentions.

In the full story:

• Membership and Public Input
• Outreach
• Article 4: Town Manager Title and Fire Chief Appointment
• Article 6: Budget Calendar and Process
• Article 2 and Article 3
• Article 7: Definitions
• Process Reflections
• Minutes and Adjournment
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,600 words

Source: the Charter Review Committee meeting of September 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.