Charter Review Committee Begins Review of Town Charter

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Charter Review Committee, May 22, 2025

The meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.

Present
Bernie Kubiak, Ken LeBlond, Meg Gage, Raphael Rogers, Andy Churchill, Marcus Smith, Julian Hynes (Chair). Absent: Erika Mijlin. One vacancy. Staff: Athena O’Keeffe (Liaison and Clerk of Town Council)

Guests: Mel Kleckner and Anthony Wilson representing the Collins Center

During the public comment period, Nina Mankin, representing parents of school-age children, expressed concern about the lack of transparency and collaboration between the School Committee and the Town Council, and urged the Charter Review Committee to consider ways to increase trust and foster effective communications. Meg Gage said the committee would welcome specific wording suggestions and Raphael Rogers encouraged attendance at upcoming listening sessions.

Outreach Subcommittee Report
Rogers and Gage referred to a memo dated May 18 that set out the subcommittee’s recommendations for scheduling and conducting listening sessions. The schedule was revised and posted after the meeting and includes five sessions, with two held virtually on Zoom (June 10 and 25) and one in-person at the Bangs Center (June 18). Two other sessions that had been discussed, at Crocker Farm School and the Amherst Survival Center, will not be held because both venues charge a modest user fee and the committee does not have funds to meet those expenses. The Bangs Center does not charge a fee.

When the committee first submitted its supplemental budget request to the Town Manager, it included an amount to cover general expenses but the Town Manager required more specificity. Instead, the committee resubmitted its request to include only funds to pay consulting fees to the Collins Center. Athena O’Keeffe reminded the committee that any request for funds submitted now would take several weeks to process because it must go from the Town Manager to Town Council who would refer it to the Finance Committee for recommendation before acting on it. Gage and Andy Churchill agreed to work on a detailed budget request for future needs. In the meantime, the committee will focus its attention on publicizing and holding the two virtual sessions (June 10 and 15) and the in-person session at the Bangs Center (June 18).

Feedback Subcommittee
Churchill reported that the subcommittee held its first meeting. Its role is to review and categorize feedback received on an ongoing basis, beginning with the 84 written comments received at committee meetings. Churchill is Chair and Ken LeBlond is Vice-Chair. Gage requested that any topics that the subcommittee identify will help inform the listening sessions.

Committee Schedule
Julian Hynes referred to the schedule of committee meetings through July. Collins Center will develop a Work Plan for the committee based on this schedule.

Review of Charter Articles I and II
Collins Center’s Anthony Wilson began an overview of the Charter. He shared on Zoom a review of the first two Articles, annotated to identify areas that generated public comment. The document can be viewed in the recording of the meeting beginning at minute 47. 

Wilson observed that the Charter lacks a Preamble and shared examples from other towns. A preamble is not legally required but can be useful to describe general values and present a collective vision for the town. Bernie Kubiak noted that the town had eliminated the “purpose sections” from the General Bylaws. Churchill was leery of spending time on creating a preamble, expecting it would not be possible to craft one that is universally acceptable. O’Keeffe reminded the committee that Town Council included a “set of princples” at the end of its Rules of Procedure. 

Wilson noted that Article I defines Amherst as the “Town of Amherst” but under Massachusetts state law it is a “city” because it operates under a Town Council. Kubiak pointed out that Section 1.6, Intergovernmental Relations, relates to the public comment received at this meeting urging better communications between Town Council and the School Committee. But Amherst has a complex relationship with surrounding towns through the Union 26 School District that oversees elementary schools in both Amherst and Pelham and the four-town regional middle and high school system. He cautioned that little can be done within the Charter to affect those complex relationships.

Article II addresses the Legislative Branch, where several sections generated discussion.

Terms of Councilors. Several public comments related to the terms of Town Councilors. Some wanted longer terms, some advocated for staggering the terms, and some urged that the Charter impose term limits. Churchill reported that the Town of Chelsea considered but rejected reducing the number of councilors; he hoped the committee will discuss both a smaller town council and lengthening terms to three years. Kubiak favors longer, staggered terms of three or four years.  Wilson  reminded the committee that some of these changes would require actions by the state legislature. 

Timing of Elections. There was discussion about whether the spring or the fall were the better time to hold elections. Prior to adopting the Charter elections were held in the spring. Cities can hold spring elections. Wilson said often fall elections bring out more voters than those held in the spring, and he urged the committee to see if there was data to inform the discussion. Churchill mentioned that the vote on the Charter was held in November at the same time state elections were held using a separate ballot. Gage said electing councilors in the spring had the advantage of integrating new councilors into the budget process. She also mentioned that when the Charter was adopted, there was concern that students who voted in presidential elections would also vote in local elections held at the same time. Hynes did not share this concern and felt that temporary residents of the town should have the opportunity to vote on local matters. Churchill recalled that when the Charter was on a separate ballot, students often declined to take one. Both Collins Center consultants cautioned that the Massachusetts Secretary of State strongly disfavors combining local elections with state and federal elections, even if separate ballots were used. Terms could be staggered to avoid state and federal election cycles.

Electing Officers. One public comment objected to councilors electing its president and vice president, and instead suggested that the office of president should go to the councilor who received the most votes during the election, with the second-highest vote-getter named as the vice-president. Wilson reported the trend is for councilors to elect the officers. He added that Cambridge refers to the president of the council as the city’s mayor, but Gage pointed out that it also has a professional city manager as well.

Term Limits. Several public comments advocated for term limits. Wilson reported that Framingham’s charter prohibits councilors running in consecutive terms, but the majority of cities have not codified a limit.

Employees Serving on Town Council. Section 2.3 prohibits a councilor from simultaneously being employed by the town. Kubiak recalled a situation prior to the Charter when an employee served on the Select Board but did not accept compensation and abstained from voting on any matter that affected his employment. On balance, Kubiak felt that it was cleaner to have a simple prohibition. However, Churchill referred to written comments submitted by a current councilor in which she urges consideration for allowing dual service in some circumstances such as by part-time or seasonal employees.  Marcus Smith asked whether such an individual should always forego the councilor compensation or instead be required to give up the lesser of the two roles. Wilson agreed there should be a measurable standard. He also mentioned some public comments that called for the town manager’s compensation to be capped or lowered, a topic more relevant to Article III.

Redundancies and Clarifications. Wilson noted Section 2.6 contained a definition of quorum specific to Town Council actions and questioned whether this was redundant of the definition of quorum in Article I. He also commented that the power to call an “emergency meeting” created a redundancy with the power to call “special meetings.” Hynes noted that meetings were held at a specified “time and place” and questioned whether the use of the word “place” was accurate when many meetings are held virtually. Wilson agreed to research this question. He also noted that the standard definition in the Open Meeting Law controls the maintenance of minutes and should be reflected in subsection (d)(v).

District Meetings. Wilson said section 2.7 requiring two District meetings per year was a unique requirement. Gage reported that District 1 meetings usually draw about 25 to 30 participants but not all districts hold them and there are no apparent consequences for failing to fulfill this requirement. At-large councilors are not subject to this stipulation. This led to Hynes asking whether there is any enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with the Charter. Wilson said there were no specific enforcement stipulations but usually the Town Manager and Town Council ensure their own compliance.

Investigative Authority. Section 2.8 addresses the Town Council’s investigative authority and the power to require appearances of the Town Manager, Library Trustee, and School Committee. A question arose about whether the Town Council could compel the attendance of the School Superintendent. The committee was again reminded of the complexity of the interlocking school systems and how the town budget and the school budget are connected. The Superintendent is answerable to the Amherst School Committee, the Union 26 (Amherst and Pelham), and the Regional School Committee (Amherst, Pelham, Leveritt, Shutesbury). The town contributes to the regional school system but does not have jurisdiction over it. Churchill said the School Committee supervises the Superintendent but the Town Council has the responsibility to oversee the budget; he questioned where the ultimate authority lies. Kubiak believes that relationships between the town and the schools were better left to elected officials on Town Council. These positions are not usually subject to open elections.

Right to postpone. Section 2.10(c) allows a single councilor to stop all discussion and debate on a matter and postpone until the next meeting. Some felt that this power is vulnerable to abuse and delays decision-making. One suggestion is to have the right to postpone require at least two councilors to participate; Hynes favored increasing that number to three. 

Public Forums. Section 2.13 requires at least two public forums per year to present the budget and the master plan, respectively. Hynes felt that the section should define the times of the year when they should be held and Churchill asked that the process be better defined. Gage urged that the process enable some meaningful discussion between councilors and the public instead of the current practice where matters are presented and public comments received without any interaction. 

The review of Charter Articles will continue at the next meeting on June 5.