Framingham Citizen Group Opposes Proposed Charter: Press Release

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The Framingham Alliance for Civic Transparency (FACT), a citizen group closely following the Charter Process has presented a list of requested changes to the Charter Commission.

President Linda Dunbrack said, “Our objective is to provide feedback that we believe will make a better charter for Framingham. We are concerned about the striking imbalance of power in this draft charter and believe stronger checks and balances should be in place.”

She presented the following list of FACT’s recommendations:

1. REDUCE THE TERMS OF AT-LARGE COUNCILORS FROM FOUR YEARS TO TWO YEARS: Shorter terms provide more accountability to voters.

2. LIMIT TERMS FOR COUNCILORS AND THE MAYOR TO 8 CONSECUTIVE YEARS: Term limits guard against the power of incumbency, open the door to newcomers who want to serve, and foster competitive elections which lead to higher voter turnout. Office holders can run again after a break.

3. REQUIRE MAJORITY COUNCIL APPROVAL OF ALL HIGH-LEVEL MANAGERS: If the Mayor’s appointments are good ones, getting a council majority to approve, rather than a super-majority to disapprove, should be easy for a capable mayor. It could actually help build the working relationship between
the mayor and council.

4. REDUCE REFERENDUM SIGNATURE REQUIREMENTS TO 5%: Significant effort should always be required by citizens who want to undo a council or school committee decision. It should not be too easy. But it also should not be almost impossible. Requiring citizens to attain 3600 signatures in 30 days is unreasonable: almost as high as the 10-year average turnout for local elections. Cutting this requirement in half to 1800 signatures in 30 days is reasonable yet challenging enough.

5. GIVE MORE AUTHORITY TO THE CHIEF OF STAFF: The October 24th draft of charter described the responsibility of this position as - “to coordinate and direct the operations of the various departments and functions of the government,” language which has since been watered down. We support the original language and recommend the position be called Chief Administrative Officer or City Manager.

6. ELECT 18 DISTRICT COUNCILORS TO EMPOWER NEIGHBORHOODS: To ensure residents continue to have a voice and that neighborhoods are not marginalized, FACT proposes 18 councilors with one from each of our existing precincts. Let’s be sure that every precinct starts out with the same voice and clout in this radically different form of government. This would provide a smoother transition while sustaining geographic representation. Instead, with 9 districts covering larger geographic areas, each councilor becomes less of a neighborhood representative and more of a politician.

Dunbrack said, “Framingham is being asked to take a leap of faith with this new charter. While we hope for the best, we need to plan for the worst. We need to protect Framingham with proper checks and balances. We request that FACT’s list of recommended fixes be included in the charter to provide a safety net against the risks of the change. FACT will go on record to say that with these requested changes we would support the charter but without them we cannot.”

The Framingham Alliance for Civic Transparency (FACT) is a citizen group that has followed the actions of the Framingham Charter Commission closely. Members of FACT have attended or viewed every Charter Commission meeting, and FACT has reviewed every public iteration of the proposed charter.

This press release represents views and information supplied by FACT.