Charter Review Committee Seeks Public Input

Source: amherstma.gov

The Town of Amherst’s Charter mandates that every ten years, beginning in 2024, the Town Council will appoint a Charter Review Committee to review and propose changes to our Charter.  While the Council can propose changes to the charter at any time and submit them to the voters for approval (within the limits of state law, see below), this decennial process assures that at least once every ten years the town will go through a formal process to review and recommend adjustments to how we govern ourselves and how those processes might be improved.  

During the coming months the Charter Review Committee will be actively seeking input from town employees, elected representatives, community volunteers, and other residents about how they experience town government and what suggestions they have for improving it.  The committee is very eager to hear from as many people as possible, both about their ideas and about how we can best reach out to our very diverse public.  While those on the committee may have specific ideas about potential changes, our primary job is to listen, to cast a wide net, and to organize what we hear into recommendations for the council to consider. 

There are some changes that can be made by a simple council vote, others that would require a town-wide vote, and still others that would require a new, elected charter commission to be formed and/or state legislative action. For example, state law requires a new charter commission for any changes that relate to the size of the council, the election process, or whether we have a manager or a mayor.  

The committee won’t limit input only to those changes that can be approved by the council (with or without ratification by the voters) but is also open to including more expansive recommendations, including those aspects mentioned above.

The committee will be setting up numerous opportunities for residents to contribute to the process, with meetings in different parts of town, organized to focus on specific areas of interest. While we appreciate the time and effort a small number of town activists contribute to our public conversations, we are determined to reach residents whose voices are less frequently heard. We hope to be creative in reaching as many different constituencies as possible, including people who are not native English speakers. 

We invite everyone in town to be thinking about how our new council-manager form of government is working and how it could continue to be improved. You can share your feedback here: Form Center • 2024 Charter Review Committee Feedback at any time – and stay tuned for additional opportunities to give us your ideas and feedback! 

Visit www.AmherstMA.gov/CharterReview for updates and more information. 

Charter Review Committee Members

Andy Churchill 
Meg Gage 
Julian Hynes 
Bernie Kubiak 
Ken LeBlond 
Erika Mijlin 
Dan Muscat 
Raphael Rogers 
Marcus Smith