By Theresa Knapp 

Hopedale Annual Town Meeting voted in May 2023 to delete the personnel bylaw from the town bylaws and replace it with a personnel policy which would be easier to amend when needed. 

In December, the Select Board approved and adopted a new personnel policy that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.  

Town Administrator Mitchell Ruscitti explained the “more adaptive policy” includes information that was in the personnel bylaw and also reflects recent decisions related to union contracts. 

“The benefit to the town to having Select Board-approved personnel policies and procedures allows the town to adapt more rapidly to social change, other norms as it pertains to benefits, vacation days, time off. This really should not be in a bylaw simply because bylaws take an enormous process to change,” Ruscitti said, noting the recent addition of the Juneteenth holiday and the process required to make that change in a town bylaw.  

The Select Board voted unanimously to adopt the new policy.