ORANGE — It’s official: Orange has a town charter.
Shortly after 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Gov. Maura Healey signed into law a bill formally establishing the new form of government, six and a half months after residents voted overwhelmingly at a Special Town Meeting to petition the state Legislature to pass the bill.
“Orange is too big to be run by volunteers,” Thomas Sexton, who chaired of the 12-member advisory committee that drafted the charter, said in a statement. “The charter is designed to professionalize our governmental structure, enabling the town to operate more efficiently and meet the complex challenges of a municipality with 8,400 residents and a budget of nearly $30 million.”
A charter essentially serves as a town’s constitution, providing the blueprint for how municipal government is structured and how it operates to serve citizens’ needs. Orange had previously operated under an established set of town bylaws, practices and procedures, and in accordance with 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. Adoption of the charter 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.
Town Meetings, open to all registered voters, will continue to serve as the body that exercises the town’s legislative powers. There will continue to be a five-member Selectboard serving as chief elected officers.
“This new charter reflects the hard work and vision of Orange residents who came together to build a stronger future for their community,” Healey said in a statement. “It creates a more responsive and effective local government that will better serve residents for years to come. Congratulations to everyone who helped make this vision a reality.”
At the Selectboard meeting on July 1, Sexton mentioned the deadline for town manager applications is July 10 and the Town Manager Screening Committee has already received “quite a few.” He explained the 10-member committee will review all applications and make recommendations for the Selectboard to interview.
State Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol, who represents Orange, made an appearance at the meeting to talk about the charter and congratulate the town.
“We don’t generally get things done in the Legislature as quickly as we did this one,” she said, “but just last night we got an email from the governor that she had signed the bill. I have a parchment [charter] here — I have a copy for the town as well as a copy for your [advisory committee], that is signed by our governor, Maura Healey, the presiding Senate President Joan Lovely, and the presiding Speaker that enacted the bill, Paul Donato.”
Whipps also praised the advisory committee and said the average citizen might not understand the depth of work required of its members.
“I mean, that’s what democracy is — getting together and figuring things out,” she said.
Whipps also presented the Selectboard with a parchment reproduction of the Declaration of Independence to commemorate the 250th anniversary of its adoption by the Second Continental Congress. Most important documents were printed on parchment paper in that time period. Whipps explained the state is making replicas available to all its cities and towns.
“I did not arrive on horseback tonight — a Mustang, I came in a Mustang. But not on horseback,” she said to laughter.
After Whipps left the meeting, Selectboard Chair Julie Davis mentioned a plan to have the reproduction framed and hung in the Town Clerk’s Office. Member David Ames suggested it might make more sense to have it in the Selectboard’s Office, but Davis said she feels the Town Clerk’s Office is a better fit because more residents can see it there. However, she said the topic can be revisited once the framing is completed.
