Charter Review Committee Moves Towards Final Approval

FRAMINGHAM - The Framingham Charter Review Committee continued to finalize their recommended changes to the city’s Home Rule Charter during their meeting on Thursday, June 6.

For months, the group has been proposing alterations to the charter. Notable suggestions have been related to factors such as financial transparency along with efforts to add more opportunities for Framingham residents to comment on the legislative and financial process locally. The changes are still at the proposition stage, and any suggestion from the Charter Review Committee will need to be approved by the City Council before being enacted within the charter.

Finalized proposals on Thursday were related to the first three articles of the Home Rule Charter, which deal with matters of incorporation as well as the city’s legislative and executive branches.

The topic of whether or not elected local officials can hold other positions simultaneously was once again a topic of discussion at the Memorial Building on Thursday. Previously, the Charter Review Committee had added positions at the state and federal levels to the list of roles that local elected officials would be prohibited from holding concurrently, along with additional elected positions within the municipal government. However, comments raised during the meeting questioned whether or not a City Councilor or School Committee member also acting as a Library Trustee or a Cemetery Trustee—both of which are positions that Framingham residents are elected to—would truly poise a conflict of interest.

Eventually, the Charter Review Committee voted 2-8 to disapprove a motion that would have made library and cemetery positions exempt from the government-exclusion provision. Vice Chair of the group Susan Craighead believed that the motion could have resulted in some conflicts of interest, adding that excluding multi-position officials could motivate more Framingham citizens to get involved in the local government.

“I think a Library Trustee or a Cemetery Trustee…I think those are both positions that somebody can start with and get their feet wet, and start into government,” Craighead said.

“I just think we shouldn’t have people holding more than one position.”

The committee also clarified their recommendation that Inauguration Day would be the second business day in January following municipal elections, while they approved their recommendations regarding vacancies within the City Council and School Committee as well. If their proposals are approved, At-Large City Council seats that become vacant with more than nine months to go until the next municipal election would be filled through a special election. A special election would be triggered for district-specific City Council spots as well as School Committee seats if they become vacant within the first 15 months of a term.

As for strategic planning within the city, the Charter Review Committee approved a recommendation that a long range strategic blueprint would be created by municipal officials each year ending in 0. That blueprint would be subject to review every five years, as the plan would aim to improve the local quality of life while ensuring that Framingham’s economic state remains strong.

The Charter Review Committee will continue to finalize their recommended changes to the charter during their meeting on Thursday, June 13.