GREENFIELD — The city’s Charter Review Committee is finishing its review of the document that guides everything from how many representatives serve on City Council, to how much the mayor makes, to how many signatures a person has to collect to bring forth a citizen’s initiative or referendum.
The city reviews its charter every 10 years. This time, former City Council President David Singer is heading up the effort. The committee will complete its task in the next several weeks and make recommendations to the full council for its consideration. The council typically reviews the recommendations, possibly makes some of its own and then votes on any changes it wishes to make.
The review by the eight-member committee — Singer, City Council Vice President Sheila Gilmour, Precinct 7 Councilor Otis Wheeler, At-Large Councilor and former Mayor Christine Forgey, Alan Woods, John Lunt, Erin Donnally Drake and current City Council President Penny Ricketts, who is serving as an ex-officio member, began last June.
Singer, who represented Precinct 5 during his tenure on the council, said the task is performed in every year ending in “0.”
“The committee reviewed the entire charter and will file a report with its recommendations,” he said. “This is an important endeavor.”
He said he has not rushed the process because of how important the charter is to the city — it covers everything from incorporation and definitions, to laws governing the legislative and executive branches, the Greenfield School Department, finance and fiscal procedures, administrative organizations, elections and more. For example, the charter is what the city used to switch to a mayoral form of government starting in 2003.
On Monday night, the Charter Review Committee discussed some of the tentative changes members have made, though it is still waiting to come to a consensus.
“We’ll remain open to suggestions from each other for as long as we can, but when we reach the final discussion, we’ll focus on finer points, not major changes — that’s what we should be doing now,” Singer said.
One of Wheeler’s suggestions, though he said he knows it will be controversial, is to include in the charter that “resident aliens” should be included as being able to vote in local elections. The problem, some other members suggested, is that if they can vote, they would also be able to run for local office.
Some members, like Forgey and Ricketts, said they shouldn’t be allowed to vote until they become citizens, while Gilmour voiced concern about what would happen if a green card expired before an official’s term, if they were allowed to run for office. Lunt expressed his concern for the legality of such a move to change the charter.
“Voting is a major privilege of American citizenship,” Woods commented.
One possibility, members said, would be for the committee to make no recommendation, but to bring it up to the council in case its members want to discuss it.
Another issue the committee will bring to the full City Council is whether secure electronic notices be the first way, for instance, the city clerk tries to contact councilors to provide them with information or give notice about an upcoming meeting. If some couldn’t be reached electronically, hard copies would be delivered as they are now.
The committee also discussed other committees, like the Planning and Construction Committee, and said its members will discuss why they are in the charter or if they should even exist. In this case, many of the major projects in the city have committees of their own.
Members also discussed whether to leave $70,000 as the mayor’s minimum salary or to raise it. One member suggested $80,000 to make it more competitive with other cities of the same size.
Singer said the Charter Review Committee will discuss public safety and citizen’s initiatives and referendums at the next meeting in two weeks. Greenfield resident Al Norman has said there have been discussions about making it more difficult for citizens to bring an initiative or referendum, and he believes that should not happen.
Although the entire charter is reviewed every 10 years by a committee appointed by the mayor, it can be amended between reviews. It was first approved by Greenfield voters on June 6, 2002 and became effective July 1, 2003. It was amended Jan. 4, 2008, Jan. 9, 2009 and Jan. 8, 2013.
Singer said every committee member read the charter from cover to cover and made comments and recommendations. Now, the full Charter Review Committee will discuss those comments and present its recommendations as a whole.
“In the end, the committee only has the power to make recommendations,” he noted.
The Charter Review Committee’s first draft can be found at bit.ly/3duRanD. For more information, visit that website or email 2020charterreviewcommittee@greenfield-ma.gov.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.