December 7, 2016

Charter Review Committee Public Forum on Changes

Tonight, Wednesday, December 7 from 7:00pm – 9:00pm at the Hopkinton Senior Center (28 Mayhew St) the Charter Review Committee will hold a public forum on its recommended changes. There will be three significant changes presented for consideration at the forum:

• Changing the Town Clerk from elected to appointed by the Board of Selectmen;
• Standardizing reporting structure for Town employees; and
• Streamlining the Budget Schedule and Warrant Process.

If you cannot attend you may contact the committee chair Pam Waxlax at pwaxlax@hopkintonma.gov.

Read the Draft Changes to the Charter for the Public Hearing

The Charter Review Committee, established for the purpose of reviewing Hopkinton’s Town Charter and to make a report, with recommendations to Town Meeting concerning any proposed amendments which the committee may determine to be necessary or desirable, will hold its second Public Forum on Wednesday, December 7 from 7:00pm-9:00pm at the Hopkinton Senior Center.

In addition to an overview of recommended changes, a “near final” draft of the proposed charter will be presented for public review and comment. Copies of the draft are available on the Town website, www.hopkintonma.gov, and in the Town Clerk’s office.

Recommended changes are the result of months of review begun in January 2016 with a list of comments received since the Town’s original Charter was first implemented in 2006. The Charter Review Committee has since investigated charters of 17 benchmark communities (communities with similar demographics), solicited input from and interviewed Town boards, committees and department heads in May 2016, and held its first public forum in September 2016. The second public forum will gather additional feedback on proposed changes before final recommendations are made.

The goal of all proposed changes is to streamline Town government, to make board and committee structure more consistent, and to enable an efficient and effective Town government capable of meeting evolving responsibilities and demands. There will be three significant changes presented for consideration at the forum:

Overall, the role of the Charter Review Committee is important in ensuring that the charter is working as intended with respect to the Town’s legislative body, its executive branch and the centralization and dispersion of authority. The committee has no assigned role in achieving any change beyond its recommendations to the Town Meeting. The final decision on any and all recommended changes will be solely a choice of the voters.