Massachusetts offers many models for municipal government
Prior to 1966, Massachusetts municipalities functioned with open town meeting, standard representative town meeting, or a city plan charter (A or B mayor-council or D or E council-manager) provided in the General Laws. Many locales modified these by enacting a special act or special act charter through the Massachusetts Legislature. With the advent of the Home Rule Amendment, towns and cities began to design charters with even more customized and hybrid versions of local government structure.
For the average citizen, comprehending the wide-ranging basics, as well as subtleties of local governance across the commonwealth is quite an undertaking. As Framingham begins its charter commission process, the following outline of the major features of municipal government in Massachusetts may help sort through the options available.
Open Town Meeting (OTM) (Sherborn, Acton and Upton are examples):
- Required with less than 6,000 residents; larger populated
towns still use it.
- Legislative body is TM - all eligible voters may fully
participate, i.e. vote on all issues.
- Representative (Limited) Town Meeting (RTM) (Framingham,
Natick, Milford):
- Optional form with 6.000 or greater residents.
- TM members elected by precinct, typically with staggered terms.
Common Features of RTM and OTM:
- Fall and Spring Town Meeting sessions (often several evenings)
with special sessions called as needed.
- TM appropriates monies, votes on bylaws (reviewed by state
attorney general).
- TM members exempt from state conflict-of-interest laws unless
specified otherwise in bylaws.
- Executive body is a board of selectmen (BOS), usually three,
five, or more, elected at large serving staggered terms;
appoints department heads, enforces town laws, sets policies,
reviews licenses, etc.
- Town administrator or town manager manages day-to-day operations,
with or without authority to appoint department heads
(requiring or not the consent of BOS); formerly named executive
or administrative secretary.
- Financial Committee - appointed by elected town moderator,
rarely elected by voters or TM; also called Advisory,
Appropriations, or Ways and Means Committee.
- City Models: Optional for municipalities with 12,000 or
greater residents:
- Mayor-Council (Marlborough, Newton, Waltham):
- Mayor (two or four-year term; must reside in community) elected
by voters as chief executive and administrator; in charge of
submitting budget and overall management of government; appoints
department heads (with council consent "weak mayor" or without
consent "strong mayor").
- Mayor may or may not be member and/or chairperson of school
committee. (In 1989 Attleboro's charter replaced mayor on SC
with three at-large seats.)
- Council is the legislative body, popularly elected either
at-large or by district/ward though most often a combination,
with two-year terms. The number of seats varies.
- Council is in session all year; it frames and passes ordinances
("bylaws" of cities), approves budget and appropriations.
- Checks and balances, as with governor-legislature/president-congress:
Council actions, such as ordinances, go into effect after 10 days
without mayor's signature; mayor has veto power over council's
actions; council has two-thirds veto override power.
- Financial Committee (or under other name) is indirectly elected
by voters, since it is most often comprised of council members or
is a council sub-committee appointed by council president.
- Council-Manager (Franklin, Cambridge, Watertown):
- Council is usually seven or nine members; district and/or at-large
all with equal voting though no veto power.
- Council members elect a chairperson (Franklin), council president,
or a "mayor" (Cambridge) from among its at-large members;
- Some locales give a title/position to the at-large member
earning the top popular vote or popular vote from among
at-large council members running specifically for council
president/SC member (Watertown).
- Acts as head of the government for ceremonial, civil process
serving, and emergency purposes with governor, police, and
military. (Nationally, council-elected "mayors" are known as
"weak mayors.")
- Some like Cambridge (Plan E) use proportional voting for councilors.
- Council powers similar to city councils except actions are in
force immediately with passage without requiring signature of "mayor."
- Town or city manager appointed by council; may or may not be
required to reside in community; is often the chief executive
and administrator with powers similar to elected "mayor"
to appoint department heads with or without consent of council
consent, though without veto power.
- Financial Committee (may be under other names) - indirectly elected
by the voters as the council or sub-committee of council; often
non-council members appointed by council or council president.
- Council president may or may not be a member of school
committee, rarely is chair.
As this outline shows, New England municipal government is confusing,
especially for those who didn't grow up here. Citizens and charter
commissions would benefit from a state mandate for a standard "about
the government" section on every municipal website that summarizes the
local government structure and operating features with links its home rule
charter or legislative special act(s)/special act charter or even
related General Laws, as well as bylaws and city ordinances. The
Department of Housing and Community Development's (DHCD) charter
repository should upgrade to an online system with a charter commission
process tool and an updated online list with links of each
Massachusetts municipality's form of government and method of
implementation (HRC, special act, etc.). Finally, DHCD and the state
attorney general's Municipal Law Unit (who reviews charters) must
have available and knowledgeable professionals to assist municipalities
with the process without the cost of private consultants to
eliminate any financial influence with the charter process.
Sharon Pinardi McCauley lives in the Town of Natick and formerly lived in the City of Peabody.
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