Medford Mayor And Council Continue To Work Through Differences With Charter

MEDFORD, MA — The City Council voted to table discussions on the city charter during its meeting Tuesday night, delaying its certification at least one week.

The council proposed and voted in favor of multiple amendments to the charter draft however, including giving equal representation from the mayor, City Council , and School Committee on the Charter Study Committee moving forward. Councilor Matt Leming expressed his dissatisfaction with the process of the charter’s formation as it pertains to his council’s involvement. While elected officials do not typically serve on charter study committees, they can appoint the members. Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn appointed the 11 members of the current CSC.

“I think we should have been more involved in the drafting process,” Leming said during the meeting. “The President cannot himself just change the Constitution.”

He acknowledged that the formation of the CSC was likely due to most of the city council’s disapproval of a city charter overall at the time the committee was put together.

In addition to changing the structure of the CSC, the council also voted to amend the charter to remove the Mayor as a member of the school committee. Leming alluded to a survey gathered in which the plurality of residents expressed that they would be in favor of doing so.
Lungo-Koehn expressed her disagreement with this amendment, saying that it is integral that the mayor remains on the committee to be involved with things such as school policy, budget considerations, and labor negotiations.

“It’s not in the best interest of our community and will lead to major issues come budget time. The Mayor is a voting member of the School Committee in virtually every city in Massachusetts,” Lungo-Koehn said.

She also expressed disappointment in the council’s decision to delay the charter’s approval, as she said the state legislature will need to receive the charter by the middle of April for it to be put on the ballot for residents in the November election.

“I think oftentimes we see good enough as just being good and we reject better,” Councilman Justin Tseng said about not approving the charter yet.