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Revised Plymouth charter’s failure leads to creation of committee
PLYMOUTH – Voters may have said no last month by a two-thirds vote to revising the town charter, but it doesn’t mean charter talks are off.
Since then, Town Moderator Steve Triffletti has been working on establishing a charter review committee – yet again.
“The purpose of performing this charter review committee is to provide both opponents and supporters of the recently proposed charter an avenue where the town charter can continue to be reviewed and that changes can be proposed in an orderly manner,” he said.
To get there, a charter review appointing committee comprised of Triffletti as chairman, select board member Harry Helm and a committee of precinct chairs member who was expected to be appointed June 15 will meet for the first time at 6 p.m. Monday, June 26, at town hall. The deadline to submit letters of intent in serving on the nine-member committee is July 7.
Triffletti anticipates the committee should be up and running by the end of June, if not earlier.
“I’ve already heard from multiple people who want to take part,” he said.
More:Charter revision fails, school committee, select board incumbents hold their seats in Saturday’s election
Both sides see value in keeping charter talk going
The proposed charter, if approved, would have expanded the select board from five to seven members, with three of those representing districts that would have needed to be established after the fact.
Abbott said that the level of change would be out of the hands of a charter review committee.
Aware of the committee’s constraints in what it could present to town meetings, Abbott said he would still like to see the creation of the appointment advisory and legislative oversight committees that was suggested in the proposed charter.
The first would be designed to help the select board in vetting qualifications for applicants to town boards and committees, and the second, which is allowed as a function of the precinct chairs, would review the status of previously approved town meeting articles.
“These are things we can take from the charter and put forward to strengthen what we have,” he said.
More:Plymouth’s charter changes could mean more representation – or less, depending who you ask
Steve Bolotin, who was among the more visible and vocal charter opponents, said he, too, found merit in the charter, but said town meeting needs to maintain their power to adapt to changing times and perform more minor changes through bylaws and other measures not requiring an entirely new charter.
“I think this proposed charter has some extremely positive aspects,” Bolotin said. “There were things in here that I talked about that I was fully supportive of, with the master plan being one and communication being another.”
He and other charter critics felt the now-failed charter would have required too many unnecessary reports and reviews with no impact that would take town staff away from its essential functions. They argued other provisions would require additional hires in several departments.
He reiterated his concern that the effort to make the committee of precinct chairs co-equal to the board may have in the now-failed charter would have unduly shifted power away from the board to the committee.
“When they talk about making the legislative branch co-equal, I’m all for that. It’s their responsibility and their obligation,” he said. “I just want to see them subject to similar levels of oversight.”
Abbot and Bolotin each said they did not plan to volunteer for the committee.
A review committee under both charters
The existing charter requires a charter review committee to be called at least once every five years. The proposed charter would have done the same.
The charter received minor updates in 2020, and a subsequent charter transition committee pushed for the creation of the charter commission, the approval for which passed at the 2021 annual election.
More:Put it to a vote: signatures now certified to review town government
Anyone interested in serving on the charter review committee can submit a letter of intent by email to [email protected].
Letters can also be submitted in person or by mail to: Michelle Turner (procurement office), Plymouth Town Hall, 26 Court St., Plymouth, MA 02360.
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