AMHERST — Amherst residents are getting hard copies of the Charter Commission’s proposal to replace Town Meeting and Select Board with a town council and professional manager this week.
The 19-page draft charter, divided into 10 sections, along with a cover letter, a charter-at-a-glance document and an organizational chart, is included as an insert in this week’s Amherst Bulletin.
Commission Chairman Andy Churchill said the printing of the charter, which is also available on the town website, comes in advance of an Aug. 31 forum, which will be held at 7 p.m. at Town Room at Town Hall. In addition, the commission will get feedback Sept. 5 at 10 a.m. at the Woodbury Room at the Jones Library.
Churchill said the hope is to get as many in-person comments as possible from people attending these meetings.
The preliminary document, also submitted to Town Manager Paul Bockelman, legal counsel and department heads, will identify any areas that need to be fixed and improved, Churchill said. The draft has also been sent to the state attorney general’s office and the Department of Housing and Community Development.
The commission will prepare a final report, which has to be delivered to the Select Board by Sept. 29. That report will include more detail about the process that led to the proposal.
A 1,000-word minority report, by the three commissioners who voted against the draft proposal, can be appended to the final charter draft, Churchill said. Churchill voted with the majority in a 5-3 vote, with one abstention.
Jerry Guidera, a spokesman for Amherst for All, said he encourages residents to continue to put ideas forward to tweak the charter, including possibly reducing the size of the council, which is proposed at 13 members. But he said he doesn’t anticipate any radical changes, such as putting a mayor in the proposal.
“We see this as the next step in an ongoing campaign,” Guidera said.
The final meetings of the Charter Commission will take place throughout September, Churchill said.
After the proposal is given to the Select Board, Churchill said members of the commission will be able to advocate for or against the proposal as individuals, but likely won’t reconvene again as a commission until after the town elections.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.