In a divisive vote Tuesday night, Chilmark select board members decided against moving forward with a proposal that would have given town employees paid family leave.
The proposed bylaw — introduced by finance committee member Vicki Divoll at a prior select board meeting in May — pointed to a lack in funding and workplace support for new mothers and families.
“Who could afford to not work and not get paid?” She asked select board members when she presented the bylaw to the board.
She was hoping the board would approve an article voters could consider at town meeting. Divoll cited the rising cost of living, many local households having two working parents, and the fact that town employees are exempt from a seemingly simple standard of care for families.
May’s meeting ended with uncertainty — the board promised to discuss the bylaw again and see if it would be a good fit for their pre-summer town meeting special in June.
Marie Larsen, select board chair, said she felt it was important to introduce a bylaw like this one. But while Jeffrey Maida and Matt Poole seemed to agree, they eventually decided to vote down the addition on Tuesday night.
“We are so far behind as a developed country — let alone the town — with something like this,” Larsen said to the select board meeting attendees. “It’s urgent. It’s something, I have to say, as a woman, I feel strongly about. And it affects men too.”
“But we’re not far behind, because we would be the first town,” Maida responded.
Divoll said there could still be a path forward for paid leave. “The sense of urgency could be handled without a change to the bylaw,” Divoll stated. She said the town could decide to go about providing paid leave another way — by setting up a fund for employees who are starting their family and would qualify for paid time off.
The select board members were all open to the idea.
