WHATELY — With the incoming presidential administration campaigning on transformational changes to the way government functions, the Whately Selectboard issued a statement this week reaffirming its commitment to serving residents.

Brought forward by Selectboard Chair Julie Waggoner, the statement reinforces the Selectboard’s role in governing the residents of Whately.

While much of the statement could be applied to the Selectboard’s work every day, the fifth paragraph references plans presented during the 2024 presidential election, in which President-elect Donald Trump said he had plans to abolish the Department of Education and fire thousands of government workers to slash spending, among numerous other initiatives.

“The incoming administration has been publicizing plans to significantly change the structure and services of the federal government. This may have impacts on citizens at the state and local levels,” the statement reads. “As the Selectboard, we will work with Massachusetts legislators to be proactive in identifying any potential changes that the new administration will be implementing, to help address immediate needs where we have the ability to do so and will work to provide stability for our community within the context of national politics.”

Waggoner’s fellow Selectboard members were on board with the statement, but they did hold a brief discussion on Tuesday regarding whether issuing the statement was appropriate for the board and if the timing of it was correct.

“I don’t remember this kind of statement being issued in the past on any national elections. … I think it may be perceived by one side or the other as, ‘Well, you didn’t do this when so-and-so was elected,’” Vice Chair Joyce Palmer-Fortune said. “There’s one sentence in the middle about the reason why this is being made now. … Every other thing is just reinforcing, ‘Hey this is what our job is.’”

“Should we be doing this preemptively based on campaign statements or seeing what actually transpires?” asked Selectboard Clerk Fred Baron. “I have no problem with the statement, my only question is timing.”

Waggoner said the statements made on the campaign trail indicate what’s coming and the Selectboard can at least make a statement to show its dedication to serving Whately residents.

“We can see what’s coming down the pike and it makes sense to say who we are and what we stand for. We have a really wonderful little community here and we want to take care of it,” Waggoner said. “This is who we are and this is who we intend to be.”

Municipalities don’t often wade into national conversations, but sometimes communities in Massachusetts and around the nation do weigh in. In the past year, the war in Gaza drew numerous resolutions calling for a cease-fire from communities around the Pioneer Valley and the state, such as Greenfield, Charlemont and Northampton.

The full Selectboard statement can be found at bit.ly/3Z9kGJF.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com. Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.