FRAMINGHAM - Members of the Framingham Charter Review Committee continued work during their meeting on Thursday, February 29.

The committee began voting on recommended changes to Article II and Article VI of the Framingham Home Rule Charter. Their suggestions will be passed along to the City Council later this year. No changes to the charter have officially been made as of the time of publication.

Proposed changes to Article VI, which deals with financial and fiscal matters in Framingham, included the addition of a preamble related to ensuring financial transparency and providing accessible information to residents.

“That was the preamble that we asked for, to kind of set a tone for the document,” Committee Chair Adam Blumer explained during Thursday’s meeting at the Memorial Building.

New details on planning for the city’s annual operating budget were also included in the group’s recommendations. The committee suggested reviewing the budget at least 180 days prior to the start of the ensuing fiscal year, as the charter would call for the mayor to meet with other municipal officials to begin that process. The operating budget would have to be submitted for review by the mayor no later than 120 days prior to the start of the fiscal year. The City Council’s Financial Subcommittee would then make final recommendations to the full council within 21 days of receiving that operating budget from the mayor. From there, a public hearing would be held prior to the final adaptation of the budget.

Committee member and former State Senator and Representative David Magnani said these additions are vital to ensure that residents are having their voices heard in the budgeting process.

“As a citizen,” Magnani continued, “I haven’t had anybody ever ask me what I think the city should be spending its money on.

“I feel like some form of open solicitation, whether its a public hearing or some other mechanism prior to the City Council making its proposal to the mayor—I don’t know what the language ought to look like, but it does feel like there ought to be some mechanism for that.”

All members of the Charter Review Committee who were present for Thursday’s meeting voted in favor of the proposed changes to Article VI.

Propositions for Article II, which addresses the city’s legislative branch, included starting terms for City Council members on the first business day of January as opposed to January 1. The committee’s draft also adds a provision that City Councilors would not be able to simultaneously hold another elected position within the municipal government. If a council member for a specific district were to move to a different district within Framingham—or outside of the city entirely—within the first 18 months of their term on the City Council, the Charter Review Committee recommended mandating that the seat would be considered vacant while a special election would be planned to fill the void for the remainder of the term.

The Charter Review Committee will revisit proposed changes to Article II during their next meeting.