First "Town Government Study Committee" Meeting Will Be September 8th at 6PM

The Select Board formed the "Government Study Committee," an ad-hoc committee, at their meeting on June 15th.  The first meeting of the committee will be September 8th at 6PM.   You can find the posted agenda here.

The ad-hoc committee has nine members:

Christine Burke
Steve Kerrigan	( Non-Voting Select Board Member)
David Mallette
Jay Moody
Anne Ogilvie
Monica Tarbell
Emily Taylor
Sue Thompson
Russ Williston

The police chief and fire chief are ex-officio members; the town administrator is coordinating it.

The proposal for this ad-hoc committee first materialized on May 2nd, at the Annual Town Meeting.  Article 11 was a referendum to signal support for a committee like this, and it was approved 146-12.

The committee is intended to report back to the Select Board starting on February 2nd, which is not very far away in municipal volunteer terms.

There's definitely been a heavy emphasis on "should the town adopt a charter" in the materials for the committee, but generally the charge for the committee asks for feedback on a number of related things:

General duties of the Committee shall incorporate: 

• A Summation of Lancaster’s current form of government and governance practices.

• An examination of the various types of government used throughout the

Commonwealth and within various comparable communities.

• The identification of the strengths and weaknesses of Lancaster’s current form of

government.

• Recommendations to the Select Board relative to creating an official Town Charter or

making various amendments to the current Town Code, Bylaws, and other governing

practices.

• The facilitation of a robust and clear public engagement process that integrates diverse

perspectives, comments and notions which are representative of Lancaster’s population.

Care and consideration shall be given to the following questions regarding the structure 

and operation of Lancaster’s government:  

• Is Lancaster’s structure of government an effective one?

• Should Lancaster have an official Town Charter?

• Are there changes which Lancaster could make which would increase the Town’s 

efficiencies or better manage the municipal operation more productively?

• Should Lancaster retain its form of government with a Select Board and an appointed 

Town Administrator?

• Are separately elected Boards, Committees and Town departments an effective and 

efficient way of governing for the current times? What are the pros and cons for this 

type of jurisdictional divide?

• Should Lancaster retain an Open Town Meeting as its legislative body?

• Should the Town seek to change, or update, various town job descriptions or revisit the 

roles and responsibilities of certain Boards and Committees?

• Should Lancaster recommend term limits for its elected officials in the form of an 

internal policy or board/committee procedures?

• Should changes in the Town’s budget process, coordination and review be enacted?

• Should more robust training opportunities be made available for members of public 

boards and committees covering topics such as conducting board business, meeting 

rules of engagement, open meeting law and ethical considerations or general member 

codes of conduct?

• Are there changes the Town can make to improve citizens’ access to information or 

strengthen the communications between Town officials and citizens?

• How can we, as a community, capitalize on the opportunities offered by technology in 

furtherance of Lancaster’s mission and goals? 

Town Administrator Kate Hodges put a "primer" packet together for the committee -- you can download a copy here: LINK

Possibly the output of the committee will lead to choices for the town to make next May at Annual Town Meeting.   Ultimately if the town moves towards adopting a charter, that will be a longer process that could take several years to complete.