Halifax Considers Charter Review to Modernize Town Government

Selectmen discuss forming committee to study potential changes, including adopting charter and reorganizing elected positions

HALIFAX, MA - June 11 - Halifax officials are considering a comprehensive review of the town's governmental structure, potentially leading to significant changes in how the municipality operates.

During a June 11 Selectmen's meeting, Board Chairman John Bruno proposed forming a committee to study whether Halifax should adopt a charter, reorganize its government, and make changes to elected positions.

"I think the town of Halifax needs to study its form of government," Bruno said. "Typically, this would be something about like a study committee or something along those lines for whether or not we should adopt a charter, whether or not we should reorganize."

Bruno suggested the board take the lead by appointing a committee to undertake this "huge job."

"We're talking about kind of overlooking the entire structure of the government and whether or not it needs to be streamlined, how to streamline it, all of those kind of things," he explained.

The committee's recommendations could potentially lead to a town meeting vote or a request to the State Legislature to authorize a charter.

Bruno emphasized that the review is forward-looking. "We're not looking backwards at all. It's looking forward, like what do we want the government to look like?" he said.

Selectman Jonathan Selig expressed support for the idea. "I think we need to take a long, hard look at a lot of stuff to try to move us forward as a town and to try to modernize a little bit just so we don't get left too far behind and we find more efficient ways to do things."

The board agreed to discuss the formation of such a committee at their next meeting, including determining its composition and scope.

Bruno also proposed including a resolution on the fall Special Town Meeting warrant asking state representatives and the governor to withdraw the MBTA zoning requirement.

"I think we've been fighting this battle for two years now," Bruno said. "And I don't believe lawsuits are the way to go because this is a state law. It's not on the Ten Commandments, right? It's something that the state itself created. The state can do away with it."

The meeting also saw the board approve lighting Town Hall for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month in June, while agreeing to draft a formal policy on illuminating public buildings for nationally recognized observances.