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August 11, 2010 - 2:18pm

Town Charter: If it Ain't Broke...?

by Dave Atkins

A preliminary report by the Government Study Task Force (available on Town website), recommends the town charter be changed through a home rule petition but without changes to the number of selectmen, timing of town meeting, or limitations on terms of office. I blogged about the public hearing on related petition articles in February. Wicked Local ran a story last month on the reappointment of the task force and Patch reported on the preliminary report last week.

Sunday's Boston.com Your Town Westwood goes into greater depth, but I wanted to highlight a couple of key points from the report and see if anyone has any feedback here.

  • A home rule petition will continue the inclusive process of discussion, leading up to a proposed warrant article for consideration by the Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting. A charter commission would require electing representatives which I think would insulate the discussion, overly formalize input, and delay everything to an eventual up-or-down vote.
  • Regarding increasing the number of selectmen from 3 to 5, I'm disappointed the task force "did not find any persuasive rationale to support an increase in the Board’s size." Mike Walsh presented an argument back at a FinCom meeting in February 2009 in favor of some means to achieve greater representation and participation. It seems we agree that precinct representation would be a bad idea, but having more selectmen could be beneficial in many ways that deserve more discussion.

The Task Force has made a great effort to seek out and include opinions and suggestions. The report is preliminary. It does not report the pros and cons of any issues but simply lays out the next steps along with the initial recommendations--which establish a valid need to move forward and consider changes.

February 5, 2010 - 7:00am

Task Force Listens to Suggestions for Charter Changes

by Dave Atkins

Westwood Government Study Task Force Charter Review Meeting

Wednesday night's meeting to discuss the Town Charter packed 50 Carby Street with a group of familiar faces--the people in town who are most active and most involved in boards, commissions, and town government. We heard a number of comments touching on most of the questions I raised in my article on Tuesday. The issues are fairly familiar to those who have participated in town meeting/FinCom hearings/Board of Selectmen meetings in the past few years.

I will post the official minutes and possibly a video recording when I have it, but for now, here are my observations on the discussion...

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February 3, 2010 - 11:58am

10 Questions for Town Government

by Dave Atkins

Perhaps the reason many voters are suspicious of government efforts to solve problems is that they have concluded the government itself is more a problem than a solution. Well, tonight (Wednesday, February 3, at 7:30pm at 50 Carby Street) the Government Study Task Force will be holding a public hearing where Westwood residents are welcome to weigh in with their opinions and suggestions for changes to the Town Charter.

Here is a copy of the Town Charter. That might make for some fun reading on the train ride home tonight, but I thought I would stir things up a bit with a few of my own questions. Maybe some answers are obvious, but have they been asked in a context where there was an actual opportunity to do something about them?

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January 25, 2010 - 4:56pm

Public Forum: Govt Study Task Force

by Dave Atkins

Westwood residents are invited to an open public forum conducted by the Government and Charter Study Task Force on Wednesday, February 3, 2010, at 7:30 PM in the Champagne Meeting Room at 50 Carby Street in Westwood. The purpose of the public hearing is to elicit from interested Westwood citizens any comments, suggestions or recommendations that they may have that pertain to the current Town Charter. Written comments and suggestions regarding our town government structure and effectiveness are also welcome and can be submitted to Anne Marie McIntyre, Task Force Administrator, at amcintyre@townhall.westwood.ma.us.

January 18, 2010 - 9:41am

Do you have Suggestions on Ways to Improve Town Government?

by Dave Atkins

Last year's town meeting included three petition articles to make major changes in town government: to set term limits, to change the date of the town meeting and elections, and to increase the number of selectmen. Those proposals were debated at a couple of FinCom meetings before being rejected at Town Meeting.

Following that meeting, the Board of Selectmen appointed a Government and Charter Study Task Force to review the current Town Charter and make recommendations. The task force will be holding a public forum on February 3 to gather community input. Follow the link above for more information.

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