Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text
By-law minutes Aug 19 2024
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Municipal By-law Modernization Committee Minutes for August 19, 2024 Pequitside Tavern, 7:00 pm Members Present: George T. Comeau, Susan Harrington, Louis Jutras, Jen Kemalian, William Kring, Paul McAuliffe, Gilda McGonagle, Randy Scollins Absent: Mike Loughran The meeting was called to order by the acting chair George Comeau at 7:00 pm. Mr. Comeau introduced opening remarks about Article 30 which established the committee, this evenings agenda, overall timeline and expectations for the committee relative to a report or potential articles for Town Meeting and then allowed each member to introduce themselves and provide a brief background about their work experience and interest in the committee. Once introductions were concluded Mr. Comeau introduced Cindy Thomas who was the Finance Committee Chair when this Annual Town Meeting article was submitted / approved. Along with Ms. Thomas was Tom Birmingham and Jen Wexler as they were some of the proponents in recent years introducing potential updates to various town processes. Ms. Thomas provided an overview from the Finance Committees perspective of items that were discussed in recent years that required review or revisions in the By-laws. One example was electronic voting at Town Meeting. No provision exists and therefore if the Town is looking for this option then changes need to be made. Ms. Thomas also referred to the $22,000 that is available as funding from the article to hire / engage a consultant. The McCormack Institute out of UMass Boston, Mass Municipal Association (MMA), and Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) were some of the organizations presented as working in this area with expertise on municipal governance. Mr. Birmingham was then introduced and provided the committee with additional background on reasons and thoughts for the committee to consider. Overall, he noted that there has not been a comprehensive review of the By-laws in years. There are inconsistencies and gaps, that the items are not well organized, and not user friendly. He asked that the committee consider reasonableness and appropriateness of current and future bylaws and principals, prioritize any potential changes in relation to critical municipal functions, and engage a consultant to compare and contrast our current By-laws with other similar communities in Massachusetts. He also commented on determining and differentiating laws, policy, procedure, and guidelines. After Mr. Birmingham finished his discussion Ms. Wexler provided her background and interaction with municipal government in the last several years. Her comments were focused Page | 1
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on governance and process as well as other committees that she has interacted with or been a member of. As each of the 3 presenters concluded Mr. Comeau asked if any of the committee members had any questions. Ms. McGonagle, Mr. McAuliffe, and Ms. Harrington posed different questions to the presenters which revolved around potential focus areas, consultants, and overall committee process. Once these questions were discussed Mr. Comeau thanked the presenters and moved on to the next agenda item which was to select a chair, vice, and clerk for a term to end after the completion of the 2025 Annual Town Meeting. After a brief discussion of rolls, responsibilities, and nomination process Mr. Comeau opened the nomination process. Moved by Ms. McGonagle that Mr. Mike Loughran be nominated as chairperson. Seconded by Mr. McAuliffe. During a brief discussion, Ms. Harrington also made a motion to nominate Mr. Comeau as chairperson and that was seconded by Mr. Scollins. Mr. Comeau entertained Ms. McGonagle’s motion and the vote was 3 – 5 as such, the vote did not pass. Mr. Comeau then entertained Ms. Harrington’s motion. The second motion was voted 6 – 2 and passed. Mr. Comeau was elected chairperson for the term. Nomination for vice chair was then opened and Mr. Scollins moved that Mike Loughran be nominated as vice chairperson. This was seconded by Ms. Harrington. The motion passed and was unanimously adopted 8-0. Mr. Comeau then entertained nominations for clerk and offered Louis Jutras as clerk. Motion was made by Mr. Comeau and seconded by Mr. Scollins. The motion passed and was unanimously adopted 8-0. After the nominations were completed some committee members wanted to follow up on a previous discussion about next steps and areas of focus. A question was directed to Ms. Thomas to see if the Finance Committee had any areas that they felt should be looked at first. She replied that there was no direction given in the article or by the Finance Committee and that it is up to this committee to decide on that. Mr. Scollins offer an option that each member receives a copy of the current By-laws and that they start to look at the various sections as homework. Several members also asked about getting a copy of the Town of Canton Charter and Mr. Comeau stated that he will work on that. The members discussed that this committee is not charged with or involved with changes to the town charter. There were several references made to the charter which were specifically and extensively spoken about regarding changes to the town’s form of government but a change to Canton’s form of government is not within the scope of this committee. Page | 2
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Emphasis was made that this article is a By-law review and not a charter review / commission. A charter review might be a recommendation from this committee but that would be the extent of this process. Mr. Comeau then discussed with the committee what cadence we should have for meetings. Ms. McGonagle felt that based on the amount of work that we should look at a 3 week meeting schedule and then as we progress revisit the topic to see if any adjustments would be needed. The committee agreed so Mr. Comeau will send out some polling dates / times for the week of th September 9. Mr. Comeau entertained a motion to adjourn which was seconded and unanimously voted and the meeting adjourned at 8:28 pm. Respectfully submitted, _____________________________________ Louis Jutras, Clerk Page | 3