Plymouth Charter Review Committee Finalizes Revised Town Charter

Updated document to be presented at fall town meeting

PLYMOUTH, MA - July 16 - The Charter Review Committee completed a comprehensive revision of the town charter July 16, making numerous changes to improve clarity, consistency and governance. The committee plans to present the updated charter for approval at the upcoming fall town meeting.

Committee members meticulously reviewed the document, addressing everything from capitalization and numbering formats to more substantive changes in language and organization.

"We did a pretty good job of catching everything. There may be a here or there, but I think all in all," said committee member Len Levin, reflecting on the thorough review process.

Key changes included consistently capitalizing terms like "Town" and "Representative Town Meeting" throughout the document. The committee also added new sections on topics such as conflict of interest and caucuses, which had been inadvertently omitted in earlier drafts.

"Mr. Abbott's correct," acknowledged committee chair Alan Costello, referring to a member of the public who pointed out the missing sections. "I know we didn't transfer it over. Now that you say that, you're absolutely right."

The committee reorganized and consolidated some sections to improve the overall flow and coherence of the charter. They debated specifics like hyphenation and numbering formats, striving for consistency throughout the document.

Looking ahead, the committee discussed strategies for presenting the changes to the public and at town meeting. Steve Bolotin suggested creating an executive summary highlighting major changes per chapter.

"So that way, for those people who are less diligent in their reading or get completely mind-numb trying to read through this charter a hundred times, they will have something that they can read through and say, all right, this is the one I want to focus on," Bolotin explained.

The committee plans to update their webpage with the new draft and officer information. "Because people are asking me about it," Martha Vautrain noted, emphasizing the public interest in the charter revision process.

As the meeting concluded, the committee discussed how to present the changes at town meeting caucuses. "Do we wanna do it as a group? Did everybody take a section? Do we wanna have one designated spokesperson?" Costello asked, leaving these questions for future consideration.

The committee's next steps include finalizing the document, creating an executive summary, and preparing for presentations at caucuses and town meeting. The revised charter will be presented for approval at the fall town meeting.