By Katie Farrell
NEWBURYPORT — After almost 90 years of the same old city government, some Newburyporters think it's time to give it a fresh look.
The City Council has taken the first step toward creating a city-wide Charter Commission, a group that will be responsible for reviewing and updating the city's governing document. It would be the first step toward potentially changing the city's government — changes that could be as small as minor tweaks and as large as getting rid of elected mayors and replacing them with city managers.
Ward 4 Councilor Ed Cameron said the charter was adopted in 1919 and needs to be reviewed. Newburyport has a "Plan B" form of government, the format where the legislative body is composed of a mayor and an 11-member City Council, with five councilors elected at large and six representing the city's wards. The mayor has power to make all executive decisions — like hiring, firing and entering contracts — and the council has the power to pass ordinances and veto certain decisions by the mayor, including the mayor's choice of department heads.
There are several other forms of government the city could adopt, including using a city manager or electing councilors just to serve at-large, rather than from districts or wards. There's also the option of having boards and committee members elected rather than appointed, Cameron said. Currently, only the City Council and School Committee are elected officials.
"We need to look at the structure," Cameron said.
The Charter Commission is still a bit away from being officially formed.
The council, acting on a bill sponsored by Cameron, has agreed to allow citizens to begin a petition drive, gathering the signatures of 15 percent of the registered voters in the city — or about 1,950 residents — who agree to place a ballot question on the November 2009 city election that would create a Charter Commission. Those signatures would be verified by the clerk's office and the City Council would need to place the question on the ballot to form the commission.
Those nine people would then be responsible for holding meetings and forums, as they compile a report of recommendations and proposed changes to the charter.
A charter review process must meet strict guidelines set by the state. The entire process could be completed in 2011 and a new version of the charter could be placed before voters to approve or reject during the election that November.
Cameron said he expects volunteers will start collecting signatures soon, with the hopes of bringing them back to be verified in May or June.
At-Large Councilor Donna Holaday said a "compelling reason" for agreeing to start the process is because of how long it's been since it was last done.
"It's time, it's clearly time ... for us to move forward on this process," Holaday said.
Councilors agreed to adopt Cameron's resolution in a 9-1 vote. Ward 1 Councilor Larry McCavitt voted against the measure and Ward 5 Councilor Brian Derrivan was absent.
McCavitt said Tuesday he has no problems with the current structure of the city's government.
"I personally don't have any problems with the charter or the way it's operating," McCavitt said. McCavitt said he is against going to a city manager set-up, saying there is already enough distance between constituents and their leaders. A former member of the Brockton City Council, McCavitt said that city tried going to a four-year term for mayor. It lasted only briefly before they changed it back to two years, he said.
"It limits the choices of the people to select their representatives," he said.
Planning Board member Bonnie Sontag spoke in favor of the proposal before councilors.
"It's been all of 90 years since we looked at the form of government we have in Newburyport," she said, adding that it should be evaluated to see if it still meets the city's needs.
Cameron said the petition drive is a serious endeavor, and he expects it will take about 40 volunteers to collect the necessary signatures — volunteers hope to get several extra beyond the needed requirement, he said.
While there is no formal group in place yet to oversee the movement, Cameron said it will be a group effort as volunteers knock on doors and stand outside stores.
While the idea for a Charter Review Commission was explored a few years ago by some city councilors, the movement never truly took off. There have been some incremental changes to the document over the years, Cameron said, but in large part, it remains the same.
"Essentially, we're still operating under what we passed in 1919," Cameron said.
What is a 'Plan B' government?
Newburyport's government falls under a pattern that state law calls "Plan B." There are 6 plans, A-F.
Under Plan B:
Mayor: Serves 2-year terms, acts as city's chief executive. He has veto power over ordinances passed by the council.
Council: 11 councilors serve as "legislative body," giving them power to propose new ordinances. They have veto power over the mayor's choice of department heads and certain other city officials.
