Plymouth Charter Review Committee Finalizes Document Structure

Committee debates inclusion of political town committees, sets deadline for fall town meeting presentation

PLYMOUTH, MA - July 2 - The Charter Review Committee voted Tuesday to approve the reorganization of the town charter document, including changes to the table of contents and chapter order, as they aim to present the revised charter to town meeting members this fall.

The committee debated whether to explicitly mention political town committees as an exception to rules about holding multiple elected positions, ultimately deciding against including this language to avoid potential conflicts with state regulations.

Committee member Steve Bolotin proposed several administrative changes to the document, including consistent capitalization of town offices and positions. "I think for consistency's sake, when we are speaking of a position in the town, it should be capitalized," Bolton said. The committee unanimously approved this change.

Committee Chair Alan Costello expressed concern about potential conflicts regarding political committees, stating, "My fear is not that anyone's doing it. I don't care if anyone does it. Devil's advocate, if there's a closed vote someday, and someone contests it, they're saying, hey, in the charter, that person's not even supposed to be on the Select Board, or the Town Meeting Representative because he's got two simultaneous positions."

However, Larry Pizer argued against including specific language, noting, "There is a judgment, and the judgment is by the chief election officer of the Commonwealth, repeated multiple times during my tenure, that this isn't a town elected office. It is an office voted on in a town election, and therefore it's a pretty weird situation."

The committee plans to meet again on July 16 at 5 p.m. to review and vote on the final document. They face a deadline to submit articles for the fall town meeting between July 30 and Aug. 9.

Committee Chair Alan Costello emphasized the importance of finalizing the document soon, stating, "We're getting close, but we're not out of time. If we pull together and get this in the next two weeks, we should be all set."

The revised charter aims to make the town's governing document more accessible and easier to understand for residents. Bolotin explained, "This document is not intended for us. It's intended for the citizens and the government of this town."

The committee's work over the past year has involved extensive review and reorganization of the charter. Their goal is to create a document that, as Bolotin put it, is easily understandable for newcomers to town government or long-time residents who have never been involved.

As the committee nears the end of its review process, members expressed confidence in the progress made while acknowledging the challenges ahead in presenting the revised charter to Town Meeting members.