AMHERST — When voters go to the polls Tuesday, they will decide the fate of the proposed change to the town’s charter, culminating a process that began with the launch of a signature campaign in September 2015 to have residents form a Charter Commission.
The commission, approved by 60 percent of voters at town election in March 2016, spent 16 months and 65 meetings developing a proposal, recommended by a 5-3 majority, with one abstention, that, at its core, would replace the 240-member representative Town Meeting and five-member Select Board with a 13-member Town Council. A professional town manager is retained.
Those voting in favor of the charter were commissioners Andy Churchill, Mandi Jo Hanneke, Tom Fricke, Nick Grabbe and Irv Rhodes. Opposing it were Meg Gage, Julia Rueschemeyer and Gerry Weiss. Diana Stein abstained.
This is the first proposal to alter the town’s government structure since voters in 2003 and 2005 voted against eliminating Town Meeting in favor of a mayor, town council and professional manager.
As part of the possible changes, elections would be moved to November and held every two years. All councilors, with two representing each of five wards, and three at-large members, would run at the same time, along with School Committee members and Jones Library trustees beginning in November 2019.
The charter calls for annual public forums on the budget, master plan and schools and a community participation officer whose job will be to promote and support diverse resident participation in government.
While rank-choice voting or instant runoff voting is not part of the charter proposal, the commission is directing the council to implement this method by 2021.
In the introduction to the charter, its advocates write:
“None of us got all that we wanted, but all of us contributed to the final product. We ended up with a compromise, in the best sense of the word – a practical, middle ground between completely changing our town government and making minor tweaks to the status quo.”
Those against the charter, in their minority report, write:
“We regret that this commission was unable to create a consensus document that might have bridged deep divisions in Amherst. The majority refused to consider improving our current Town Meeting and Select Board.”
The charter debate has elicited strong responses from campaign ballot committees.
Supporters, including the Amherst for All campaign that initially sought to create the commission, have said the charter proposal will make town government more representative, more accountable and able to engage in year-round decision-making, which Town Meeting is unable to do when it meets just twice a year.
Opponents have formed three groups to make a series of arguments in advance of the vote, including that the charter proposal lacks checks and balances, that the average resident will not be able to participate, that big money will be brought into town politics and that undue influence will be given to developers.
Here are the polling locations where residents will vote between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesday:
https://www.amherstma.gov/189/Precincts-and-Hours.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.