Are Proposed Changes to Town Charter a Step Forward or Back?
Residents have a chance to judge for themselves by reading through the document.
There has been plenty of speculation regarding the changes to the Town Charter that will likely be recommended to Tewksbury voters in the form of a Town Meeting warrant article by the Special Act Charter Commission (SACC).
Due to issues with Open Meeting Law (12 meetings were held at a residents that was not handicapped accessible), the earliest the document could be voted on is October's Special Town Meeting.
Between now and then, the SACC plans to hold public forums to gain public feedback on the proposed changes before drafting the final warrant article.
Attached is a draft of the proposed charter, including changes, that the SACC submitted to the Board of Selectmen for their feedback.
It should be stressed that is only a draft of the document and not a final warrant article. However, it is the document that selectmen will be discussing with the SACC at a future meeting and it should bear a strong resemblance to the document that will be on the table when the SACC holds its public forums.
The document is the result of more than 18 months of research, debate and deliberation by SACC Chairwoman Elizabeth Carey and her committee.
Karyn
4:21 pm on Monday, January 31, 2011
Open Town Meeting is the purest form of democracy. No matter how you slice it, the bottom line remains the same. It takes away both personal choice and individual power from the citizenry, diminishes our elected Town Boards and puts the ultimate power in the hands of seven people. They can "call" us a town but we will have the government of a city.