This year’s town meeting will have an entire evening, Tuesday, May 8, devoted to proposed changes to the town’s charter. The meeting will be held in the Ashland High School auditorium, 7 p.m.
“The [charter review] committee was deeply aware of the critical governance role the charter plays for the residents of Ashland,” Roberta Soolman, chair of the Charter Review Committee, said. “We are looking forward to a spirited and informed discussion at this year’s annual town meeting,”
Here is an interview with Soolman, where she explained what the town charter is, why it is important and what some of the proposed changes are.
Q What is the town charter and why should residents care about it?
A The town charter is essentially the “constitution” for the Town of Ashland, providing a set of fundamental principles that determine how the town is governed. The charter defines various governance structures, powers, duties and responsibilities. For example, the charter outlines the powers of Town Meeting and who can participate. It decides which officials are elected, which ones are appointed, their terms of service and how they can be recalled. It articulates the Town Manager’s responsibilities and authority, who has the authority to organize town departments and the process for producing the town’s annual budget. Everything the charter defines has a direct impact on the residents of Ashland and how their government works to provide services to them.
QWhy make changes now to the town charter?
AAccording to section 8-2 of the current charter, every five years, the board of selectmen appoints a charter review committee. The purpose of the committee is to review the provisions of the charter and make a report with any proposed amendments or revisions that the committee believes are necessary. Some changes are made to make the charter clearer and easier to read. Other changes are more substantial and have a significant impact on content, for example, to remove outdated items or to fix a governance issue.
QWhat was the process for recommending changes?
A Ashland follows the Home Rule Petition Process, which defines a specific set of steps for recommending changes and bringing them to the voters for consideration. The charter itself articulates some of the process requirements.
The first step is to have the board of selectmen appoint members to the charter review committee. After its review of the current town charter, research into issues, input received from residents and many discussions, the committee submitted its recommended revisions to the Board of Selectmen (BOS) and presented them at a BOS’s meeting. Within 60 days, the board held a public hearing to solicit comments from residents. Because the charter review committee is advisory to BOS, the BOS can revise the committee’s recommendations and has the final authority to decide which recommendations, theirs or those of the committee, will be placed on the town meeting warrant for consideration and a subsequent vote by town residents. The revised charter, approved at town meeting by a simple majority, is then sent to the legislature for its review and approval and, if approved, is sent to the Governor for his signature.
Throughout the charter review process, there has been significant public input. The committee was appointed by the BOS in March 2015 and held 58 public meetings between June 2015 and May 31, 2017 when it submitted its report to the BOS at a televised selectmen’s meeting. The committee solicited resident input via three public forums, a survey and the Ashland Farmers Market. The committee also made a presentation at the televised Special Town Meeting on Nov. 28, 2016 and appeared on The Policy Beast with Makeda Keegan on WACA-TV.
QWhat are some of the highlights/changes?
A The committee was committed to following a thorough, open and inclusive process to propose changes that provide all residents with a local government that is accountable, responsive, inclusive, effective, efficient, transparent and respectful of everyone.
Throughout, the committee sought to recommend changes that are independent of personalities and individuals and that will stand the test of time, providing a sustainable structure no matter who is on staff, who is elected or who is appointed.
The committee made editing changes to the existing charter to enhance readability, clarity and consistency, including language, grammar, punctuation and style changes.
Substantive changes to charter content were intended to:
Avoid perceived or real conflict of interest and achieve a balance of authority
Appoint qualified individuals to a key town board and establish a specific and transparent process for appointing enhance transparency, consistency and accountability
Clarify a process.
Here are some of the more significant recommendations made by the committee:
No full-time employee of the town reporting to the BOS either directly or indirectly through the town manager can simultaneously hold the position of selectman
No full-time employee of the school district may simultaneously hold the position of school committee member
With some exceptions for ex-officio or ad-hoc appointments or projects that require bonding, members of the BOS, the school committee or the finance committee cannot hold any other elective or appointive town office or position during the term for which they are elected or appointed
Change the board of health from elected to appointed
Change the town moderator’s term from 1 to 3 years
Establish a specific process for appointing volunteers to boards, commissions and committees
Require the town moderator to follow the specified and transparent process for appointing members to the finance committee
Simplify the process for recalling elected officers
Add consistent and specific financial reporting requirements for municipal government and the school department.
QWhere can residents view the charter?
AThe charter involves complex governance issues, and it’s important that residents study the charter and the recommendations in advance of the town meeting in order to have an informed and productive discussion. The links to the documents are listed below:
The current town charter: www.ashlandmass.com/documentcenter/view/484
The committee’s final report submitted to the board of selectmen on 5/31/17: www.ashlandmass.com/DocumentCenter/View/2443
The committee’s recommendations as amended by the board of selectmen on 7/26/17 with corrections from the committee on 1/11/18: www.ashlandmass.com/DocumentCenter/View/3346