ORANGE — The town’s first charter will take effect on July 1, and the Bylaw Review Committee’s chair recently addressed the Selectboard to lay out the plan for implementation.
Tom Sexton said at last week’s meeting that some citizens approached the Selectboard in April 2025 to discuss forming a committee to brainstorm avenues to reform the town’s government. Selectboard members responded favorably and appointed a Charter Advisory Committee, which evolved into the Bylaw Review Committee, to research ways to do this.
“It turns out there aren’t a lot of ways to do that,” he said. “The main mechanism at our disposal was the creation of a town charter, which a little over 100 towns in the commonwealth have. Obviously, Orange did not.”
Residents voted 155-12 at a Jan. 12 Special Town Meeting in favor of an article pertaining to the adoption of a town charter to change and modernize the local government’s organizational structure and operation. Sexton called this a “strong endorsement.”
Orange currently operates under an established set of town bylaws, practices and procedures, and according to applicable general laws and regulations, with a town administrator who works on behalf of the five-member Selectboard to coordinate across municipal departments and operations. The charter’s adoption creates a strong town manager role to serve as chief administrative officer and direct day-to-day operations across most of the municipal government structure.
According to Sexton, most operating, personnel, procurement, departmental and appointment work depends on getting the town manager in place quickly, or naming an acting town manager if needed. He said existing bylaws will remain in effect unless they are inconsistent with the charter.
Policy work must be scheduled, too. Sexton said Selectboard/town manager policies, personnel procedures, and annual 90-day policy reviews should be calendarized and assigned to a drafter. Capital requests, school budgets, Finance Committee recommendations, public hearings and Town Meeting adoption should be tracked on one executive calendar.
At last week’s Selectboard meeting, conversation eventually shifted to the town manager’s job description.
The charter stipulates that the town manager will have the authority to hire, discipline and terminate town employees (with specific exceptions that relate to employees under the jurisdiction of the library trustees, water commissioners, airport commission, housing authority and school committees), appoint employees to one- to three-year terms, and discipline or remove appointed employees.
The job, once defined and posted, will be open to all interested candidates, including Town Administrator Matthew Fortier. An affirmative vote from at least four Selectboard members will ultimately decide who will serve as town manager.
The Selectboard on Wednesday approved a job description. It was agreed that the town manager will serve as Orange’s chief administrative officer and is responsible for the effective administration of all municipal affairs placed under the town manager’s office by the charter, Town Meeting, the Selectboard, bylaws and applicable law.
“The town manager provides executive leadership for town government, implements Selectboard policy, oversees municipal operations, manages personnel and administrative functions, supports sound financial planning and budgeting, and coordinates the delivery of town services in a professional, lawful and efficient manner,” the job description states. “The town manager is expected to devote full working time to the duties of the office and may not be a candidate for or hold any elective office during the term of appointment.”
The minimum qualifications for the job include a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and at least three years of full-time executive service in public or business administration, or an equivalent combination of education and experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the duties of the office.
Sexton said in an interview that the Bylaw Review Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, May 13, to discuss forming a Town Manager Screening Committee.
