Meeting, January 4, 2001

Present:  Linda Wollschlager, Raphael Herz, Jeffrey Phillips, Philip Verzani, Paul Connolly

The meeting convened in the School Department Training Room, Third Floor, Town Hall at     7:15 PM.

The committee informally discussed a set of goals for the committee. A draft list of goals is included in these minutes.

Goals

Primary

Stimulate thought and discussion about provisions in charter and by-laws

Obtain input from Town officials, boards, and committees on whether or not charter and by-law provisions reflect current practice

Obtain recommendations from Town officials, boards, and committees for changes to the charter and by-laws

Obtain suggestions from all Natick residents  for changes to the charter and by-laws

Review the provisions of the charter and by-laws in accordance with Sections 7-6 (a) and 7-6 (b) of the charter and make a report, with recommendations in the form of warrant articles for proposed amendments, to Town Meeting in October 2001.

Secondary

Encourage improvements to the Town web site to make the charter and by-laws available on the web and to update these documents regularly

Publicize the purpose and contents of these documents

Develop auxiliary materials (for example, indexes, summaries, timelines) that make the provisions of these documents more accessible, easier to use, and more understandable.

The committee began discussions on a plan of action and a timeline. The sketch of the plan includes (1) review of documents, (2) outreach to Town officials, and (3) inputs and feedback through the end of May. In order to meet the deadline for filing warrant articles for the Fall Town Meeting, the following dates were proposed:  preliminary draft 6/8; feedback due 6/29; final draft 7/20.

Officers were elected (with the vote indicated): Mr. Herz, Chair (4-0); Ms. Wollschlager, Vice-Chair (5-0); Mr. Connolly, Clerk (3-2).

Mr. Phillips raised the question of whether or not the committee wanted to establish special rules requiring more than a majority vote for the committee to approve any recommendations to Town Meeting for charter and by-law amendments. The general consensus was that members wanted broad support for any recommendations made. However, it was also acknowledged that hard choices to limit the scope of the committee's efforts may have to be made, and any requirement for more than a majority vote may not be workable in such situations. No change to the common majority-vote procedure was pursued further.

The committee discussed a draft of a letter to Town officers, boards, and committees requesting their initial inputs. The draft was provided by Mr. Herz. There was unanimous consent that the chair send out this letter within a week after revising it to include sections (1) to emphasize the need for each recipient to designate a point of contact and to respond by Jan 24, preferably by e-mail and (2) to ask for review of specific designated sections (and more if desired) and an indication of the broad areas where changes may be needed. Copies of the designated sections are to be attached. Mr. Connolly was tasked with providing the breakdown of the charter and by-law sections for distribution to the various Town officers, boards, and committees.

The committee approved the minutes of the meeting on December 14.

Several tasks were assigned. Mr. Verzani will arrange for a mail box at Town Hall for the committee and will determine how to arrange for the delivery of interoffice mail. Ms. Wollschlager will provide a generic e-mail address for the committee for response by governmental units. Mr. Herz will coordinate and assemble the mailing to Town officers, boards, and committees requesting their initial inputs. Mr. Phillips will develop a strawman procedure for evaluating revisions to the charter and by-laws and a methodology for dividing the work among committee members. Mr. Herz will write up the timeline.

The meeting adjourned at 9:25 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Paul E. Connolly