by Mike Maholchic

Richard Neely, chairman of the Town Government Study Committee was the speaker at the Milton Rotary Club on March 11, 2015.  Mr. Neely is a former selectman and former chairman of the Warrant Committee, who brings a wealth of experience in town government to the effort to bring it up to date.

He began by noting that some larger towns in Massachusetts have gone to a city form of government recently, with a mayor and an elected council.  The members of the study committee felt that Milton would still be best served by a board of selectmen and Town Meeting form of government although the Committee has proposed  improvements to attract and retain Town Meeting members.

The study committee had just voted to recommend enlarging the Board of Selectmen to five members from the current three.  Although this will not be considered at the May Town Meeting, because the recommendation was not ready in time, it is expected to be submitted for the October Town Meeting warrant.  The main arguments in favor of this change are several:  additional members will be able to assist with the heavy  workload of issues, including the creation of subcommittees; additional members will be able  to be provide greater representation to the residents; and improved communication given that at least two members on a five member board  could discuss an issue without constituting a quorum,(provided it doesn’t turn into a serial conversation about the same issue), whereas today no communication is allowed amongst the three members under  the Open Meeting Law .Mr. Neely noted that the vast majority of towns with a population of over 10,000 have a five-member Board of Selectmen.

Other changes received some comment from the Rotary audience.  The study committee is recommending that the Town Administrator be empowered to appoint, supervise, and discipline all town personnel, and have authority over budgets and capital outlays, wage settlements, and the use of town owned property.  “What do you need selectmen for?” asked Rotarian Jimmy Mullen.   Mr. Neely answered that the selectmen would operate much as a Board of Directors does in a private company, with authority over policy and the Chief Executive Officer.

The study committee is also recommending that the quorum requirements for town committees be reduced to enable them to conduct business when there are vacancies on the committee.  Instead of requiring there be a majority of the committee when all its positions have been filled, it will be a majority of the members actually serving.  Rotarian Cindy Christiansen said she was against this change, because she was concerned a committee could be controlled simply by not filling all of the slots.  Mr. Neely replied that the Moderator was responsible for filling the positions of many committees, including the Warrant Committee, but the Warrant Committee had the power to fill vacant positions as they arose during the year to remain at full strength.  This change was designed to help committees transact business legally as they were getting organized in the summer before all positions could be filled or in the interim when vacancies occur.   The proposed article would not impact elected positions.

Other articles that are being recommended are creation of an Other Post-Employment Benefits Liability Trust Fund to reduce the unfunded liability of the town for retiree benefits such as health insurance, adding a Bylaw Review Committee, an Information Technology Committee, and amending the bylaws to add a permanent Audit Committee. The Audit Committee article would strengthen the existing audit committee; provide greater independence and additional reporting to the Town Meeting and the general public on issues identified by the independent auditors that need to be addressed by Town Departments.

The Milton Rotary Club meets Wednesdays at 12:15 at Abby Park Restaurant, 566 Adams Street, Milton.  Please contact the club secretary, Michael Maholchic, if you are interested in one of our upcoming programs.

On April 1, 2015 we will hear from Martine Taylor, Regional Executive Director for South Shore Habitat for Humanity.

On April 8 we will be treated to a presentation from our inbound exchange student from Turkey, Ayse, and get to meet her parents who will be visiting.

On April 15 we will hear from Imge Ceroglu of Sustainable Milton.