The Charlton Select Board on Jan. 14 approved multiple routine administrative items: appointment of a new police dispatcher, several poll-worker appointments, two utility companies’ requests to install joint poles on town roads, the designation of outside counsel as a special municipal employee, and contracts for department chiefs.

Personnel actions approved included appointing Kayla Dighton as a police dispatcher with a start date of Feb. 3, 2025; appointing Bay Poker as a traffic controller with a term through June 30, 2025; and a slate of poll workers named through Dec. 31, 2025. The board accepted the resignation of James Howard from the Council on Aging, effective Jan. 7, 2025, and recorded a notice of retirement from Police Lt. Keith Cleaver effective July 12, 2025 after 30 years of service; no action was required on the retirement at this time.

The board swore in and approved the contract for the town’s incoming fire chief (recorded on the transcript in the oath and statements by the new chief). The board then approved the police chief’s contract; both contracts were moved, seconded and approved with no discussion recorded.

Two public hearings on utility pole locations were held and closed before votes to approve. National Grid and Verizon New England requested permission to locate a joint pole on City Depot Road and a second joint pole on North Main Street to serve a transformer at 10 North Main Street. The board opened each hearing, recorded that no written concerns had been received, and voted to approve both pole locations after a motion and second.

The board also approved a staff recommendation to designate the firm identified in meeting materials (named in the packet as Blattening, Goberowski, Haverty & Silverstein LLC and attorney Jonathan Silverstein) as special municipal counsel for planning-board master-plan work to avoid conflicts of interest.

Other routine matters handled without extended discussion included approving minutes from prior meetings and town notices (dog-license availability, building-code updates, town-hall closings). The board posted an upcoming budget-development cycle and invited departmental input; members discussed prioritizing public safety and capital requests while preparing the FY2026 proposals.

Votes recorded in the public transcript were recorded as motions, seconds and the chair’s call for ayes; the transcript does not list a full roll-call tally for each routine vote in the public record.