Charter Review Cmte. Discusses Goals, Sets Meeting Schedule; Decides Public Input Must Be in Writing

Charter Review Committee members - Mike Manugian, Stuart Schulman, Mike Bouchard, Bob Collins, Bud Robertson, Jane Allen and Scott Harker - met for the first time Tuesday afternoon in Town Hall to establish goals and procedures for their committee. Selectmen Peter Cunnigham and Anna Eliot along with Chairman Jack Petropoulos were in the audience. Town Manager Mark Haddad and former State Representative Bob Hargraves, were also in attendance along with two or three others.

After electing Mike Manugian chairman, members of the committee discussed goals and procedures, agreeing on the importance of seeking public input and committing themselves to a transparent deliberation process. To this end, the committee asked member Mike Bouchard to look into setting up a web page on the town website for posting information and also to establish an email address for residents to submit comments and suggestions.

A recommendation to post all residents suggestions on the website, was rejected as being too cumbersome and, perhaps, too public. Member Jane Allen said residents should be encouraged to make suggestions, but posting all suggestions on line might force people to 'defend their positions at the grocery store'. She said, "We don't want the discussion to take place on a chat line - we want the discussion and deliberation to take place here, in the committee." Bud Robertson agreed saying, "I don't think we want to encourage people commenting on each other's opinions. We should look at the opinions and then we should deliberate and decide if we want to move forward with an opinion."

Bob Collins also pointed out, "not everybody has computers and this process needs to be open to all people - including people like me - who do not use computers to communicate."

To ensure an orderly process for receiving and evaluating citizen comments, the committee agreed that all comments - even if originally offered verbally - should also be submitted in writing. They decided submission by email, conventional mail, or even submission by hand was OK, even agreeing to accept anonymous suggestions and comments if submitted in writing.

The committee settled on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 9:00 pm for meetings, after Chairman Mike Manugian encouraged the committee to chose an evening meeting time when those working out of town would be able to attend. Initially, the committee agreed to try to meet every week when possible, although it was acknowledged that meeting every week in July and August might not always be possible. The committee also agreed that it was important to develop a timeline of critical deadlines so that the committee could complete its work before Spring Town Meeting. Chairman Mike Manugian agreed to put together a proposed timeline for the purpose of discussion and development of a schedule of critical meetings for the committee's next meeting.

In addition, member Bouchard was asked to contact the Cable Committee to investigate the possibility of broadcasting the Review committee's meetings to help generate interest and comment.