Westminster Town Meeting voters oppose charter’s power structure
By
Doneen Durling
Reporter
Posted Apr 3, 2019 at 10:45 AM
WESTMINSTER — After being told that if there was one vote that was
really important, it was the vote to adopt a town charter April 2, so
the voters came. The room was packed standing-room only and chairs had
to be brought in so that people could sit to hear the most important
proposal that could change the way their town is governed.
After two hours of listening to a proposal to adopt a town charter and create a position for town manager as chief operating officer, voters at the special Town Meeting shot it down by tabling the plan until further notice, citing their objection to the “vast centralization of power” and a loss of their right to vote in people to serve on elected boards.
Town Government Committee Chairman John Fairbanks talked about the people who had served on the committee, meeting 45 times over the three years to learn what was needed and begin to develop a plan and to invite public outreach.
Fairbanks said members serving have a wide degree of experience, and ages have varied from 26 to 82.
“Three were born here, six were not, five are at-large members, and four are representatives of the Board of Selectmen, Advisory Board, Planning Board and Conservation Committee. Three have engineering backgrounds, two have corporate experience in process improvement and project management,” said Fairbanks, adding much more to the list that showed highly qualified members.
Bernard Lynch, consultant from Community Paradigm Associates, presented the plan, giving a history first of the Town Government Committee’s charge and mission, and laying out the known strengths and identifying who was responsible and accountable.
Departments gave feedback, and the committee learned that there was a lack of accountability, chain of command and a place where the “buck stops.” They noted there was inadequate community outreach, inconsistent standards and expectations, and poor communication across departments.
Lynch said they observed that the current government was decentralized where everybody in charge meant that nobody was in charge. He said all elected boards answered to voters, with no oversight on a day-to-day basis.
The decision came down to adopting a home-rule charter to help establish local control over government, providing stability.
The selectmen and Advisory Board approved of the adoption of the
home-rule charter and the hiring of a town manager, but the boards that
would no longer be elected had a much different opinion.
Selectman James DeLisle said that the reason he supported the proposal was that he knew Town Administrator Karen Murphy would soon retire soon, and they would have to find someone new and now might be a good time to change. He said if he was hired to oversee and be accountable for a $21 million budget, he would want to be in control of the different areas.
Selectman Wayne Walker said there was a clear need to restructure local government as outlined in the proposed charter “so as to become more accountable, more responsible and more efficient as we progress further into the 21st century.” He added that the charter is what local government looks like in towns that are forward thinking.
Selectman Heather Billings said the process of the implementation would involve input from the town and different committee members and by clarifying what the committees do on a daily basis would assure that it all continues.
“There may be some bumps as we go through this implementation, but we are a great town, and we are going to figure it out,” she said.
Lisa Rocheleau, chairwoman of the Advisory Board and member of the town study committee, said it had been a pleasure working with the committee for the past three years.
“The overriding part of this was that everyone really cares about Westminster,” she said. “We are looking at this in the same way. We don’t want any of this to be adversarial.”
Burt Gendron, a member of the Advisory Board, spoke against the
proposal, advising voters that they should not give up their right to
vote, which won applause from the crowd.
Dr. Michael Popik, chairman of the Board of Health, said the board would like to go on record as unanimously opposed to the town charter. He said they did not want to see the board changed from elected to appointed because it is their belief the board needs to remain strong and independent, free from any competing influence of any kind that could affect public health. He said there could be a potential conflict of interest if they were appointed by a town manager, plus the health agent would answer to the town manager, not the Board of Health. Popik said if the motion proceeded to approve the charter, the board would offer amendments to consider.
M.L. Altobelli read a statement from the Agricultural Commission in opposition to the change.
“We agree that there are problems with communications within the town structure, but we also think that the proposed changes are an extreme reaction ... a move from a horizontal structure of many elected positions to a completely vertical structure of few elected positions. This is a major consolidation of power, not a clarification of internal town communications and responsibilities,” said Altobelli.
Many citizens came forward during the Tuesday, April 2, session to say what the changes would mean to their boards and the main opposition declared by many was for the vast centralization of power.
Town Moderator John Bowen stepped down at the beginning of the meeting, handing the gavel to Dana Altobelli so he could have a say.
Bowen said that if there was a problem with the charter, the town could not just go to Town Meeting to correct it.
“We’ve been told that the best time to make a change is when
everything is going fine,” said Bowen.
“I think the worst time to make a change is when it is not needed.”
Bowen made a motion to table the article, and the motion was immediately seconded. It received a more than two-thirds vote as required, and the discussion stopped.
After two hours of listening to a proposal to adopt a town charter and create a position for town manager as chief operating officer, voters at the special Town Meeting shot it down by tabling the plan until further notice, citing their objection to the “vast centralization of power” and a loss of their right to vote in people to serve on elected boards.
Town Government Committee Chairman John Fairbanks talked about the people who had served on the committee, meeting 45 times over the three years to learn what was needed and begin to develop a plan and to invite public outreach.
Fairbanks said members serving have a wide degree of experience, and ages have varied from 26 to 82.
“Three were born here, six were not, five are at-large members, and four are representatives of the Board of Selectmen, Advisory Board, Planning Board and Conservation Committee. Three have engineering backgrounds, two have corporate experience in process improvement and project management,” said Fairbanks, adding much more to the list that showed highly qualified members.
Bernard Lynch, consultant from Community Paradigm Associates, presented the plan, giving a history first of the Town Government Committee’s charge and mission, and laying out the known strengths and identifying who was responsible and accountable.
Departments gave feedback, and the committee learned that there was a lack of accountability, chain of command and a place where the “buck stops.” They noted there was inadequate community outreach, inconsistent standards and expectations, and poor communication across departments.
Lynch said they observed that the current government was decentralized where everybody in charge meant that nobody was in charge. He said all elected boards answered to voters, with no oversight on a day-to-day basis.
The decision came down to adopting a home-rule charter to help establish local control over government, providing stability.
Selectman James DeLisle said that the reason he supported the proposal was that he knew Town Administrator Karen Murphy would soon retire soon, and they would have to find someone new and now might be a good time to change. He said if he was hired to oversee and be accountable for a $21 million budget, he would want to be in control of the different areas.
Selectman Wayne Walker said there was a clear need to restructure local government as outlined in the proposed charter “so as to become more accountable, more responsible and more efficient as we progress further into the 21st century.” He added that the charter is what local government looks like in towns that are forward thinking.
Selectman Heather Billings said the process of the implementation would involve input from the town and different committee members and by clarifying what the committees do on a daily basis would assure that it all continues.
“There may be some bumps as we go through this implementation, but we are a great town, and we are going to figure it out,” she said.
Lisa Rocheleau, chairwoman of the Advisory Board and member of the town study committee, said it had been a pleasure working with the committee for the past three years.
“The overriding part of this was that everyone really cares about Westminster,” she said. “We are looking at this in the same way. We don’t want any of this to be adversarial.”
Dr. Michael Popik, chairman of the Board of Health, said the board would like to go on record as unanimously opposed to the town charter. He said they did not want to see the board changed from elected to appointed because it is their belief the board needs to remain strong and independent, free from any competing influence of any kind that could affect public health. He said there could be a potential conflict of interest if they were appointed by a town manager, plus the health agent would answer to the town manager, not the Board of Health. Popik said if the motion proceeded to approve the charter, the board would offer amendments to consider.
M.L. Altobelli read a statement from the Agricultural Commission in opposition to the change.
“We agree that there are problems with communications within the town structure, but we also think that the proposed changes are an extreme reaction ... a move from a horizontal structure of many elected positions to a completely vertical structure of few elected positions. This is a major consolidation of power, not a clarification of internal town communications and responsibilities,” said Altobelli.
Many citizens came forward during the Tuesday, April 2, session to say what the changes would mean to their boards and the main opposition declared by many was for the vast centralization of power.
Town Moderator John Bowen stepped down at the beginning of the meeting, handing the gavel to Dana Altobelli so he could have a say.
Bowen said that if there was a problem with the charter, the town could not just go to Town Meeting to correct it.
“I think the worst time to make a change is when it is not needed.”
Bowen made a motion to table the article, and the motion was immediately seconded. It received a more than two-thirds vote as required, and the discussion stopped.
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