Retreat to Produce Recommendations for Changes to Town Charter

Having completed their review of all the articles of the Town Charter over their last three meetings and with a compilation of public comments prepared by the Feedback Subcommittee, the Charter Review Committee will hold a retreat on Saturday, September 6 in order to begin work on its initial report.

The committee’s charge requires the production of three separate reports: (1) an initial report showing draft changes to the Charter, (2) a preliminary report with recommended changes, including a comparison of proposed changes to the Charter’s present language, and (3) a final report with recommended changes and comparison with the present language. 

The charge requires a public forum on the preliminary report. The committee also is considering ways to circulate the initial report, including holding one or more outreach events in order to gather public feedback.

The retreat will be held at the North Amherst Library Community Room from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a break for lunch from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. There will be two opportunities for public comment, first at the beginning of the meeting and also after the committee reconvenes after lunch. Committee Chair Julian Hynes, has asked the town to live stream the proceedings. If that request is granted, the link will be available along with the retreat’s posting on the town calendar but has not been posted as of this writing.. The committee has set October 31 as the deadline for completing its work.