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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-12-02 ad Hoc Charter Review Committee Minutes Town of Reading Meeting Minutes Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Ad Hoc Charter Review Committee Date: 2013-12-02 Time: 7:30 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Conference Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: Review Reading Town Charter Session: General Session Attendees: Members - Present: Precinct 2: Steve Crook, Alan Foulds Precinct 3: Margret Russell, Paul Sylvester Precinct 4: Glen Hartzel, Richard Coco, David Mancusco Precinct 5: Phil Pacino, Phil Rushworth, Janice Jones Precinct 7: Carolyn Whiting, John Segalla, John Carpenter, Jeff Struble Precinct 8: Bill Brown Members - Not Present: All members were present Others Present: Town Manager, Robert La Lacher, Town Clerk: Laura Gemme; representatives from other Boards, Committees and Commissions as well as Reading Citizens (see attached Appendix) Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Richard Coco, Clerk Topics of Discussion: The meeting was called to order by the Chair, Town Meeting Moderator Alan Foulds at 7:30 pm. Since this was the "Open Meeting" at which inputs from Reading Town Boards, Committees and Commissions were invited to be brought to the Committee. Alan Foulds gave an overview of the Reading Charter Review Committees' responsibilities and a summary of the progress to date in reviewing and revising the Reading Home Rule Charter. It was also noted that the proposed revisions to the Charter can be found at the Reading Town web site under the Bylaws heading. Next, Member Phil Pacino provided an overview of the three major issues before the Charter Review Committee. Town Meeting Membership - should the number of elected Town Meeting members be reduced, and the possible addition of At-Large members considered? Bill Brown noted that At-Large membership for Town Meeting may not be allowed under Massachusetts statues, to which the Town Clerk noted that she was awaiting an answer to this question from Reading Town Counsel. Board of Assessors - should the Board be appointed rather than elected as is now the case? This is an important function within Town government and the Committee believed appointing this Board would ensure that its members could have prior assessor experience. Page 1 1 Library Trustees - should the Library Trustees be appointed rather than elected? This question was discussed in greater detail later during this meeting. For each of these questions, a summary of the deliberations and questions raised by Charter Review Committee members were presented. Following these opening remarks, Alan Foulds open the meeting to inputs and comments from the audience attending the meeting. Comments from individuals attending the meeting included the following: Article 2-5 Nomination Procedures - the committee was asked to consider adding a statement that nomination papers be picked-up and signed by the candidate in the presence of the Town Clerk or his/her representative when taken out. The Committee agreed to revisit this article. Article 2-6 Vacancies - the question was asked why the oath of office requirement for Town Meeting members was removed. The speaker felt that requiring the oath solemnized the office. Committee member Bill Brown stated that the Massachusetts Constitution does not require an oath to be taken by Town Meeting members. Article 2-12 Establishment of Standing Committees - why was the requirement that a Finance Committee report of an Article be submitted at least seven (7) before Town Meeting action eliminated? The speaker felt that the 7 days was necessary to allow for a full review of a given Warrant Article. The response from the Charter Review Committee was that perhaps Article 2-12 needed further review and possibly additional language to clarify this statement. Ultimately, it was noted that Town Meeting controls discussion and action on article before, it with or without Bylaw or Finance Committee inputs. Article 3-4 Board of Library Trustees - there was much discussion concerning whether the Library Board of Trustees should be appointed or elected as is now the case. Several members of the Board of Library Trustees in the audience strongly advocated for the election of the Board of Library Trustees remain unchanged. Board of Library Trustees members spoke of "Intellectual Freedom" and wider Town representation by an elected Board of Library Trustees as important attributes of an elected Board. The Board of Library Trustees members also advocated adding language to this article stating that the Board of Library Trustees appoints the Director of the Library. The Board of Library Trustees in attendance requested a separate meeting with the Charter Review Committee. Article 3-5 Municipal Light Board of Commissioners - addressing a question from the audience, it was stated that the change adding the word "Commissioners" after Municipal Light Board of Commissioners did not change their duties or responsibilities. Article 4-10 Other Committees - the Charter Review Committee was asked to consider adding the names of additional standing committees that currently exist to give them visibility. Article 8-5 Computation of Time - it was suggested that a definition of the Reading Town Business Day be added to this article to better define this article. There was a general discussion of whether a Town of Reading Annual Report should be required to be written and distributed or posted on the Town web site by the Town Clerk's Office. The Town Manager Bob LeLacheur made a comment at the request of the Finance Committee that the Charter Review Committee discuss and consider removing the requirement setting a limit of three (3) consecutive three (3) year terms for Finance Committee members. Page 1 2 Prior to adjourning, the committee agreed to meet next on Monday, December 16, 2013 at 7:30 pm in Town Hall meeting room. The Chair thanked those in the audience for their thoughtful comments and suggestions. On a motion by Bill Brown, second by John Segalla the Committee voted unanimously to adjourn at 9:OOpm. Appendix- Meeting Attendees Jack Russell — Economic Development Commission Jane Burns — Council on Aging Bob Quinn - Board of Assessors Gordon McIntosh — Resident Nancy Kohl — Reading Historical Commission James Kohl — Resident Virginia Blodgett — West Street Historical District Commission Everett Blodgett — West Street Historical District Commission Virginia Adams — Reading Historical Commission Dan Ensminger — Board of Selectmen Cherrie Dubois- Board of Library Trustees Eric Berstrom — Zoning Advisory Committee Vicki Yablonsky- Board of Library Trustees Kurt Habel — Celebration Committee, Town Forest Trustee Page 1 3