GRANBY – The Selectboard and School Committee hosted a joint meeting on Dec. 9 to discuss a variety of agenda items including the town budget and the upcoming spring Town Meeting.

Both the Selectboard and School Committee agreed that they should continue to host the joint meetings at least quarterly or sooner if a pressing matter comes up. They also agreed that they will alternate locations and go between the East Meadow School Library and the Council on Aging.

The next joint meeting will take place at the end of February or the beginning of March, according to both committees. They said that they hope to include the Finance Committee at the next joint session.

The committees had a discussion on the use of future budget funds. However, the official budget numbers from the state will not be released until February or March. With the discussions only being preliminary, they both agreed that they will be able to have more solid debate and answers at the next joint meeting.

The next Town Meeting date has not yet been officially set. However, Selectboard members said that there will most likely only be one Town Meeting in 2022 and it will take place on May 9. This could change based on Town Administrator Chris Martin’s input or COVID-19.

With a tentative May 9 date, the School Committee now has time to start preparing articles, hosting public forums and hosting hearings to get ready for the meeting. They also said that they will meet with Martin beforehand to get some dates finalized and questions answered.

Both the Selectboard and School Committee agreed that the meeting was beneficial. They said that they look forward to hosting more and continuing to have friendly relations.

Selectboard Chair Jennifer Silva explained, “I really do appreciate and I’m glad that we are able to have these types of discussions. Whether we are going to see eye to eye on certain things or not, I do like the ability to just reach out and say ‘Hey, this is what it is.’ And I don’t necessarily want the communication to only be when something has to be conveyed. I think it’s incumbent upon all of us to cultivate those relationships because there’s going to come a time where we’re all not going to run again for a seat at some point, but we need to be able to turn that relationship over and I don’t think either of us boards want to start from scratch when that happens.”

Those interested in watching the joint meeting of the Selectboard and the School Committee in its entirety are encouraged to visit the Granby Community Access & Media YouTube page.