Consultants, Commission Begin Revising Harwich Charter

        

HARWICH – The charter commission has begun working with the Collins Center for Public Management at UMASS Boston on revisions to the town’s home-rule charter.

The center provides technical assistance to communities across Massachusetts seeking efficiencies in operations. The charter commission was approved in the annual town election and has been meeting for several months working toward a consensus on how to move forward.      

The commission hired the Collins Center at the end of August, issuing a contract for $38,000 to assist the commission in modifications to the town charter that was approved in 1987. The commission met on Oct. 9 with Anthony Wilson, leader of the center’s  charter and organizational structure and practice operations, and Becca Meekins, public service manager at the center.

The message from Wilson was that the 10- to 11-month timeline is tight for the commission to accomplish its task. A preliminary report will be required by Sept. 20 of next year, which will have to be sent to the Attorney General’s Office for review by Oct. 18 and forwarded to the select board for inclusion in the 2027 annual town meeting by Nov. 20.

  Among the issues often examined in charter revisions, Wilson said, are changes in the form of government, decisions on elected officials — including the number serving on a board and the timing of terms — and examining the use of a town administrator or town manager.

Meekins has been working with commissions across the state updating charters. The trend the center is seeing is toward reductions in elected officials caused by more regulations increasing the amount of work, pushing communities toward more professional positions. 

“There is a significant transition toward professional staff,” Meekins added.      

  There is also an emphasis on budgeting and capital planning as money gets tighter given Proposition 2½. How budgets are managed and who presents them on the town meeting floor are other adjustments being made, Meekins said.

Getting the right balance between town meeting, the select board and town administrator in a charter is an important goal, said Wilson. The charter is a legal document and clarity is important; the document has to be readable by citizens, he said.

The Oct. 9 session was also about getting to know the commission members, the feel for the community, and the direction members are looking to take in crafting the document, he said.

Member Richard Waystack said he wanted to see more of an emphasis on a strong town administrator. There also needs to be more clarity on the appointing power of the town administrator, he said, adding that the organizational structure right now is scattered and staff has been leaving. 

“How do we make it happen so that it does not happen again?” asked Waystack. He emphasized that the town administrator should have a good knowledge of Massachusetts General Law, hold a master’s degree in public administration, work on a day-to-day basis with staff, and should be making the appointments of the finance director and human resources officer.

Given that select board members may have no municipal experience and are elected by a popular vote, the select board should be focusing on setting policy, Waystack said.

Commission members spoke of the need for a compliance commission to oversee conformance with and interpretation of the charter. Commission member Sandra Hall said that as new people came in to serve the town and did not like the wording of the charter, they ignored it.

“We need guardrails, not barriers,” she said. 

Charter Commission Chair Linda Cebula said such a committee should serve as an arbitrator working toward a balance. Waystack agreed, suggesting an arbitration committee with a focus not on punishment but on education.

Commission member Lou Urbano said the commission’s role is to fix parts of the charter that are broken. There is a need to define who brings forth policy and who makes policy. 

The commission’s role should also be to encourage more citizen participation on boards and committees, he said. The commission needs to find out whether an organizational problem or a structural problem is leading to the decline in volunteerism. He questioned whether the planning board should be appointed or elected.

“The key is to bring about more participation,” Urbano said.   

Wilson said he expected to spend two to three meetings on each of the topics of interest to the commission. The Collins Center staff would do research and look at what other communities are doing as issues are raised. His staff will shape the language for concepts put forward by the commission.     

“Don’t throw away the good for the perfect, because it might not pass,” Wilson cautioned the commission.