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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2021-04-12 Charter_Changes - CiroCHARTER CHANGE LIST 1 Marcia Ciro 4/12/21 1 SPECIFIC ARTICLE CHANGES NOTE: this references the Collins document Watertown Charter with potential areas for discussion MISC I believe that there should be an onboarding plan for getting new Councilors and any new resident board members up to speed on the formalities that are required of them. At the very least, there should be a document that describes the particulars of Open Meeting Law, as well as How to Run a Meeting, Procurement, Resources, etc. Is this something that could go into the Charter? Or could this be something that the new TC hired hands could take care of? 1. ARTICLE 1 Section 1-1 ADD THE PREAMBLE Consider updates suggested by the Collins Center: "It is more common for the legislative branch to be described first in council-manager form of government. Although purely symbolic, the Committee could consider flipping the order of these. [Legislative capacity/balance of power]" Upgrade to CITY of Watertown 2. ARTICLE 2: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Section 2-1 Section 2-2 Section 2-3 (a) Composition of Town Council: Option i. Increase the number of at -large councilors to 5 at-large/4 district (one serves as President for 2 -year term; see 2-2); define roles of at -large and district councilor better (b) Term of Office: 2 or 4 years; this should be discussed considering Option i. Real -world experience of current/past members (what would have been easier for them?) Option ii. Re-election is a given for most, just go to 4 years. Term Limits for TC/TM. Keep as is for now, but have another review in 5 years; if there has been no changeover, indeed, not even any challenges to many seats on the Town Council, we should consider term limits of no more than 3 terms. See '2020 12-30 Collins Charter Discussion and QandA_from 121520 CRC Mtq pt2 '; page 3, #3. See "Memo_ re_ term_limits.pdf" (a) COUNCIL PRESIDENT: CHANGE the election of the TC President to "by the Council" to ensure cohesiveness of the Town Council and more equitably share responsibilities. This provision, of which we are only one of two cities in MA to use, appears to be an attempt to have a "mayor - like" officer. Although it may seem counterintuitive to take away voter choice, in practice it seems to bestow very little real power to the TC President and requires no "mayor -like" responsibilities with accountability, transparency, communication. Rather it has created a position without accountability and minimizes the roles of the other Town Councilors. I believe that election of the TCP by the TC members would result in more changeover and more evenly distributed responsibility of all town councilors, as well as better communication between councilors. This would give other councilors a chance to represent the whole council and prevent one person from getting entrenched in this role. The balance of power would be more equal within the Town Council. NOTE: if we keep this provision as is, the role of the TCP should be better defined as to its responsibilities to residents and the other Town Councilors. See Note A at end of this document for language. (b) Add State of the City address, to be given by TC President (See Note A); give the School Committee appointment to the Vice -President of the TC or other to be decided by the TC as a group for better balance of power within the TC (a) COMPENSATION: By ordinance: Should be agreed that TC compensation needs to increase and that an ordinance passed before the next election (b) EXPENSES: By ordinance: TC should have an operating budget for any additional administration, research and communications staff that are hired, however this may be done (NEW) Require more public communications BEFORE Town Council meetings or any public meeting and more explanation of what will be discussed/voted on. Provide for budgeting to meet this goal. (NEW) Require better documentation AFTER all public meetings, including meetings required by Town for residents and third party developers. Define timeliness for posting minutes. Provide for budgeting to meet this goal. CHARTER CHANGE LIST 1 Marcia Ciro 4/12/21 2 Section 2-4 Section 2-6 Section 2-7 Section 2-8 EXERCISE OF POWERS, ETC (c)(ii): Consider adding regular meetings of Town Councilors (4 or less) with constituents, either through (1) office hours or (2) public meetings to address (a) specific issues, or (b) general state of the city/upcoming issues. (These meetings could be facilitated by new office staff) • See Amherst: SECTION 2.7: DISTRICT MEETINGS The Town Councilors from each district shall convene a minimum of 2 meetings in their districts each year open to all residents. The purpose is to facilitate 2 -way communication between the Town government and the residents of the district. Residents may submit discussion topics to their District Councilors in advance, and District Meetings must include a period of public comment. (c)(iv): Define "full, accurate, up-to-date account" for 2021 technology; Define "reasonable promptness" ACCESS TO INFORMATION: define "access" for 2021 technology; Require IT Director to produce yearly report on advances and best practices for e -government Technology is ever-changing; we need to get up to speed, then periodically review how we use technology to communicate with residents. TC and TM should be committed to keeping up with best practices. Possibly TC should create an e -government committee that would include members of the Council AND resident public experts. APPOINTMENTS BY TCP or TC (b) expand role of TC Clerk (full-time or 2 part-time) (NEW) TC should appoint Planning and Zoning Boards There is, to me, a direct conflict of interest in having these boards appointed by the TM. Currently, these boards serve to rubber stamp the suggestions of the Dept of Planning and Community Development. They do no pro -active work in updating codes. With the intense effects that development has had on surrounding neighborhoods, and will continue to have, it seems that these boards could be less partisan and also be given more power to hold public meetings about coding changes if they were equally accountable to TM/TC. • See "Framework for considering elected and appointed offices.pdf" • See Amherst: "2.9(c) Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals: The Town Council shall appoint all members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals for staggered 3 -year terms." • See Westport: https://www.westport-ma.com/planning-board/pages/statutory-planning-board-duties-under- m assach usetts-general-1a ws • See Natick: https://www.natickma.aov/515/Plannina-Board (NEW) Make provisions to aid the Town Council in its duties: (a) hire a Public Communications officer (b) hire a research/analyst assistant (c) hire full-time administrative help or two part-time positions (d) create a Town Council office, if not in the Town Hall, then somewhere close (old police station?) with small and large meeting rooms. Small rooms could be used for TC meetings with individual or small groups of residents (e.g., monthly hours) and a larger meeting room for larger groups. We can no longer count on the library and other places that are not always available. See Amherst, Section 2.7, District Meetings ORDINANCES/MEASURES (c) define "Publication" for 2021 technology (See Section 2-6 above) (NEW) Require Town -wide public forum • See Amherst: SECTION 2.13: PUBLIC FORUMS The President of the Town Council shall call not fewer than 2 public forums a year to address the master plan and the budget, respectively. The public forums shall present the public with context alert the public to upcoming issues, and collect feedback from the public. CHARTER CHANGE LIST 1 Marcia Ciro 4/12/21 3 3. ARTICLE 3: Section 3-1 Section 3-2 Section 3-6 TOWN MANAGER: add language pertaining to TM follows policies of TC (Collins) (b) REMOVE residency requirement (2) Define better [Accessibility] How does this work in regards to separation of TM/TC Appointed/Elected officers? (3) Adopt Collins Center suggestions (4) Require personnel annual reviews (13c) Require key administrators to produce publicly accessible minimum yearly report of their activities: DPW; Environmental (Trees, lighting, signage, stormwater, etc); Budget; Schools; Traffic, Planning, posted on Town Website; Require TM to submit clear reports and quarterly updates on state of the city/budget, posted on Town Website TM EVALUATION (a) Provide for review and metrics for measuring performance for Town Manager and key staff (Financial, Planning) 4. ARTICLE 4: OTHER ELECTED OFFICES Section 4-1 Section 4-2 (f) Revise if changes made in Section 2-2 (b) LIBRARY TRUSTEES: keep as elected body It was obvious after hearing the representative from the Library speak early on that they prefer elections. If they think they can do their job better this way, we should defer to them. 5. ARTICLE 5: FINANCIAL PROCEDURES: Section 5-1 Section 5-2 Section 5-3 Section 5-5 Adopt Collins Center suggestions to change language Get public involved BEFORE and not AFTER budget decisions; appropriate budget for advertising; allow for public comment and response period; consider second meeting to address public concerns • See Amherst: SECTION 5.3: PUBLIC FORUM Not later than March 15, but before the Town Manager submits a proposed budget to the Town Council, the President of the Town Council with the cooperation of the Town Manager shall call at least 1 public forum on the topic of the proposed budget. This forum is intended for the Town Council and the Town Manager to present priorities, context based on prior years' budgets, revenue and expenditure forecasts, and other relevant information, and to solicit feedback from the public. Add extra step per Collins suggestion (a) Public Hearing: get public involved BEFORE and not AFTER budget decisions (See Amherst 5.3 above) Follow Collins suggestions: (a) Make this capital outlay report easily accessible, understandable on Town Website 6. ARTICLE 6: ADMIN ORG Section 6-3 Publication: update for 2021 technology 7. ARTICLE 7: ELECTIONS, etc. Section 7-2 How do we make it easier to run for office in general? Section 7-8 How do we ensure a hearing for citizen petitions? It seems that many recent petitions die before they are heard, or petitioners are convinced to take lesser solution. How do we give people more of a voice, esp. if they have gone to the trouble of organizing and getting signatures? It seems the rules are here, but not always followed. 8. ARTICLE 8: GENERAL PROVISIONS Section 8-1 (b) Periodic Review: every 5 or 10 years subject to a vote by the current Charter Review Committee; next review should be in 5 years or closest to that and town -wide elections (b) CHANGE the makeup of this Committee to 9 residents appointed by the Town Council, or some other way, but not all by TCP. (b) provide for the creation of a budget to engage and communicate to the public Section 8-6 (d) Quorum: define better. (Without 48 -hour posting? How many? What % of group can meet?) The Open Meeting Laws are confusing and hard to follow. Watertown should define as much as possible pertaining to meetings and conversations outside of public forums. Section 8-12 (new) Follow Collins suggestion for creation of vision committee 9. ARTICLE 9: Transitional Provisions: discuss relevancy CHARTER CHANGE LIST 1 Marcia Ciro 4/12/21 4 NOTE A Suggest language from BRIDGEWATER, SECTION 2-3: Council President; Election; Eligibility; Term Of Office; Powers And Duties (a) Election - After the councilors -elect have been sworn, the town council shall be called together by the elected town clerk for the purpose of conducting an election among town council members for the office of town council president and vice-president (1 year term)... (c) Powers and Duties The powers, duties and responsibilities of the council president shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) The council president shall preside at all meetings of the town council, regulate its proceedings and shall decide all questions of order. (2) The council president shall have the same powers to vote upon all measures coming before the town council as any other member of the town council, but shall have no veto power. (3) The council president shall be recognized as the official head of the town for all ceremonial purposes and the council president, or his designee, shall represent the town in its relations with other units of government. (4) In time of public danger or emergency the council president may, subject to the review of the 42 action by the town council, temporarily exercise the town council's supervisory powers over the town manager, but such delegation shall not exceed 7 days unless the town council votes to extend the temporary powers not to exceed another 7 days. The town council may extend the period of delegation by successive extensions of not more than 7 days each. (5) The council president in conjunction with the town manager shall prepare and deliver a yearly state of the town message to the town council and citizens of the town describing the state of the town. The message will address the financial state of the town, strengths of the town and areas that need attention, as well as potential opportunities for the betterment of the town. The state of the town message should also set the agenda and goals for the town council and town manager for the ensuing year. (6) The council president shall call no less than 2 meetings of the general public each fiscal year for the purpose of obtaining public input to the policies of the town. The meeting agenda and format shall be determined by the town council but shall be designed to obtain public input to the policies of the town. Members of the public may submit potential items for the agenda of the meetings in accordance with rules adopted by the town council. The public shall be given at least 14 days notice of the date and time of such meetings. The notices shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the town and posted on the town bulletin board. The town council may provide for additional venues for such postings.