North Attleboro government reform is in the details

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NORTH ATTLEBORO - When selectmen hold another public meeting about government reform next week, they will likely be breaking down what changes can be made locally and what would require special acts of legislation.

That proposal, by Selectman Mark Williamson, was made after a meeting with Marilyn Contreas, a municipal policy analyst with the state Department of Housing and Community Development who essentially told the board that any large scale changes would likely require the creation of a charter commission or a special act of legislation.

The consensus of the roughly dozen people who attended the forum Monday was if any changes are to be made, they be done in increments as opposed to wholesale change such as to a mayoral form of government.

Fred Bottomley, a resident and developer, said the perception the public may have is "it's all or nothing" - the current or a mayoral form of government.

The buzz word for the evening was "accountability." "We can eliminate some of these elected boards" and create appointed ones that would answer to an elected board of selectmen, which in turn would be accountable to voters, Bottomley said. "We don't need a mayor if we have accountability with the board of selectmen."

Sean Donahue, who is a member of the health board and was a member of the government study committee in 2000, said charter proposals in the past have divided the town and created animosity. He said there is "a major disconnect" between the paid professional department administrators who claim they must answer to their elected boards and are not technically answerable to selectmen or the town administrator.

He suggested perhaps the way business is done can be changed through a bylaw that could be brought to representative town meeting and then to the voters at-large.

"Attack the problems one by one versus wholesale changes," he suggested to selectmen.

Contreas said there were three main ways to change local government: Electing a homerule charter commission of nine members who could meet for up to 18 months with a proposal that goes to the election ballot; a homerule petition that goes through the state legislature and the governor; or by local bylaw adoption.

The most major of changes, anything dealing with a change in the town administrator or a change in the executive or legislative body, for example, would require the legislative processes.

A bylaw could also allow provisions for consolidating financing or other such functions, but only assuming the effected individuals are appointed, she said.

Contreas said selectmen would essentially have to look at how each board was created in order to change it. For example, if the electric department was created through an act of legislation, any changes of composition or organization would take an act of legislation.

"Basically, the way you created it is the way that you change it," she said.

"My concern is to change to a mayoral form of government is too drastic," Selectman Paul Belham said. The problem, he said, "is that elected boards don't answer to us." He said 90 percent of the complaints selectmen get concerns elected boards.

It was also suggested selectmen read the proposals in the previous charters concerning problems raised and the solutions proposed.

Board members seemed intent on getting some type of change on the election ballot in the spring.

"People want someone in charge," Selectmen Chairman John Rhyno said. Selectmen have said they want to take the initiative versus immediately proposing a charter commission.

 

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