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CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE
Minutes - March 2 2010
Members present: Scott Kerry, chair; Nan Balmer, Judy Cannon, John Knight, Stephen Wasby
Others present: Selectman Aimee Eckman
The meeting, at Eastham Town Hall, began at 5:05pm and ended at 6:45pm.
Mr. Night expressed his displeasure with the general behavior at the February 22 committee meeting.
The minutes of the February 22, 2010, meeting were approved, 4-0-1, after several changes were made. Ms. Cannon objected to the style of the minutes, and said that they should contain only the motions and votes, not characterization. Stephen Wasby said that if the Committee wanted a Clerk with a different style, it could select a different Clerk, and he would not continue in the position. At the end of the meeting, Judy Cannon was nominated to be secretary, and the nomination was approved.
Ms. Cannon said she did not wish to receive any messages by e-mail. Further messages to members of the committee will come from the chairman, who will find a way to deliver them.
Mr. Knight asked Selectman Eckman about the allocation of seats on the Nauset Regional School Committee, a matter she was going to explore; she said that they are allocated on the basis of the number of registered voters.
Chairman Kerry distributed a letter from Town Counsel’s office commenting on several of the changes the committee had proposed. Wasby said that C6-2 had been changed, eliminating the Town Counsel’s concern; all agreed.
Selectman Eckman raised a question as to whether the items approved in 2000 had in fact been approved. She will speak to the Town Clerk. She was shown the letter the committee had received from the Town Clerk. She left the meeting and met with the Town Administrator, and returned to confirm the committee’s understanding that all items approved in 2000, except the
Town Treasurer/Collector provision were in effect.
The committee returned to the matters raised in the letter from Town Counsel’s office.
- It was moved, seconded, and approved, 5-0, that C9-5N should be changed to read “which bonds a municipal project of $500,000 or more, there shall be . . . “
- It was moved, seconded, and approved, 5-0, to add a paragraphed sentence at the end of C9-5A, “Upon the appointment and qualification of the Search Committee, the office of Search Coordinator shall be abolished.”
- It was moved, seconded, and approved, 5-0, to add a paragraphed sentence at the end of C9-5L, “Upon the appointment and qualification of the Water Management Committee, the Water Resources Advisory Board shall be abolished.”
Charter Review Committee - Minutes - March 2 2010 - p. 2
In order to allow Mr. Wasby, not present when the committee decided to have only two warrant articles, to present his views, Mr. Knight, a member of the previous majority, moved and it was seconded, to allow reconsideration of that decision. Mr. Wasby presented his views. Mr. Knight and Ms. Cannon wished to keep two items, as the changes relating to the FinComm were minor. Wasby asked how the Committee would respond to an objection at Town Meeting to those provisions, and Chairman Kerry indicated how he would respond. It was moved, seconded, and approved, 4-1, to have only two articles.
There were brief comments on Ms. Plante’s letter, distributed at the previous meeting, concerning the Town Treasurer/Collector position.
It was moved and seconded to reopen discussion on this matter, and approved 4-1.
Ms. Balmer moved, and it was seconded, to insert “Town Treasurer/Collector” before “Police Chief” in C4-4, and to remove all prior changes to section C4. Failed, 2-3.
It was moved and seconded, as follows:
To insert “Town Treasurer/Collector” before “Police Chief” in C4-4;
to insert, at the beginning of C4-4D, “Except as to the Town Treasurer/Collector,”;
and to add the following new C4-4E:
“Appointment of the Town Treasurer/Collector shall become effective no later than the 15th day following the day on which notice of the proposed appointment is filed with the Finance Committee and the Board of Selectmen, unless five (5) members of the Finance Committee and three (3) members of the Board of Selectmen shall vote to reject such appointment within such period.”
Approved, 3-2.
Possible public hearing dates were discussed. The next committee meeting will be on Tuesday,
March 9, at 5pm, for final proofreading of the proposed changes. Possible public hearing dates are March 23 and March 30, at 5pm.
Nan Balmer will prepare, send, and post the agenda for the March 9 meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephen L. Wasby, Clerk
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