When a city charter is nearly 175 years old, there are bound to be areas for adjustment and improvement.
That’s why Lynn has established a Charter Review Committee, led by former Mayor Thomas M. McGee, to assess the existing charter and its special acts, and advise the City Council on areas where amendments are desired. The charter, which was written in 1850, was last reviewed about 40 years ago.
“The goal is to come up with ways to make it a more cohesive document, easily digestible for the general public,” said McGee. “It’s really good policy to look at it and ask, ‘where are we at today? How can we make it better and more relevant?’”
The nine members of the committee include McGee, Joe Scanlon, Nicole McClain, Magnolia Contreras, CJ Mihos, Danya Smith, Jim Lamanna, Pam Edwards and Nielsen Fresco. At the first meeting, held on May 30, the members voted to elect McGee chair and Scanlon vice chair. Each member took home the full document of the charter and will reconvene to discuss initial thoughts on June 26.
The committee is receiving guidance from consultants from UMass Boston’s Edwards J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management. The Collins Center will: facilitate the committee’s discussions and help with a decision-making plan; provide general guidance on substantive aspects of municipal administration; research charters from comparable communities; and work with the committee to draft revised presentations.
“They’ve done about 20 of these throughout the state, so we’ll be using their expertise to help direct the discussion,” said McGee.
The goal is to have a proposal ready for the City Council and Mayor Jared C. Nicholson by the end of 2024.
The existing charter, approved by the voters in 1978, calls for the city to create a Charter Review Committee in every year that ends in the number 4 to make recommendations on how to update and approve the charter. The existing charter calls for the committee to consist of appointments by both the mayor and the city council president.
“The charter serves essentially as the Constitution of Lynn and I am excited for the first time since our current charter was adopted, we have established a Review Committee who will work with outside consultants to recommend how to bring our ‘Constitution’ into the 21st century”, said City Council President Jay Walsh.
“We’re grateful that this committee will be taking a thorough look at the charter and recommending modifications,” Nicholson said. “This is an important exercise that will have an impact on how the City operates for years to come.”
The above press release was submitted to us by Mayor Nicholson’s office.
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