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HomeMy WebLinkAboutProgress Report 1967-03-STG-rpt.pdf PROGRESS REPORT March 1966 - March 1967 Lexington Structure of Town Government Committee The five member Structure of Town Government Committee was created by a vote of the 1966 Annual Town Meeting "to study the structure of the Town's government 1 to report its findings and recommendations to the 1967 Annual Town Meeting a copy of such report to be mailed to all registered voters " OBJECTIVES Webster defines structure as "the arrangement or interrelation of all parts of a whole " Therefore, this committee believes that the organization and basic pro- cedures we recommend should include 1. establishing the constituent parts of the whole government; 2. clearly assigning powers and duties such as clarifying and separating administrative and policy making functions; 3 determining the interrelationships among boards and committees and to the administration, the town meeting and the voter Since our appointment by the Moderator in May of 1966 we have been primarily concerned with two points -understanding the present and potential problems of Lexington's government as seen by the various town boards, committees, employees and citizens -setting priorities for our work. We believe that citizen participation continues to be a desirable and valued part of our town government A representative town meeting appears to be the best way to serve this basic purpose both now and when the town reaches its ultimate population of 45,000; consequently, we have voted not to recommend conversion to city government Other criteria which will guide our assessment of problems and the adequacy of proposed solutions will be administrative operating efficiency, policy coordination, responsiveness of government to the electorate, and an ade- quate system of checks and balances IMPACT OF HOME RULE AMENDMENT The passage of a constitutional amendment in November 1966, has given Mass cities and towns increased home rule authority Since we wish to present one comprehensive, consistent proposal for related changes, we have decided to extend our study and postpone our final report and recommendations (See Article 85, 1967 Warrant) until the Special Commission to Implement the Home Rule Amendment, through state legislative action, draws up further guidelines, makes available optional Model Charters and reviews and revises all the general laws relating to munici- palities Interim recommendations will, accordingly, be held to a minimum and offered before our reporting date only when necessary to solve immediate problems and only if they can be incorporated into any basic structural pattern (e g. Article 73, 1967 Warrant, Permanent Building Committee) We also feel that we need additional time to evaluate, with the help of officials and citizens, the many implications of any changes we recommend. We then must determine if our recommendations require, or are best accomplished by, -2- Charter adoption via tue Charter Commission procedure, By-Law, votes of the Town Meeting, administrative code or amendment or repeal of our Special Acts It is important to note that Lexington has no charter nor is it required to adopt one under Home Rule Our Special Acts have the force of a charter and the Town may now, by By-Law, exercise any power or function not inconsistent with the Constitution, general laws or existing Special Acts BASIC CONCLUSIONS In surveying the Size and nature of the problems we have come to the following basic conclusions 1. Considering the talented and willing citizens that reside within the own we believe that present citizen participation is neither as •r4 ,La idespread, effective nor as relevant as it should be Citizen SO participants are too often used for time consuming and unnecessary ! r` cro-1 administrative concerns rather than in a policy making, advisory or Liv , - 1 rresearch capacity 2. One of the most pervasive organizational difficulties we see is the lack of liaison and coordination among the existing boards and committees Too much depends on memory and experience of particular individuals and voluntary and often temporary cooperation among certain groups As a Brookline study committee ruefully pointed out "cooperation and coordination are not synonymous " Many responsibilities are not clearly defined either legally or by custom. policy is often not formulated and certainly not coordinated (a concern we share with all Lexington's government study committees since 1921) A prime example, is the lack of overall policy for land acquisition and development No mechanism now exists for ensuring the coordination of physical planning with economic and social planning. While many citizens like the "checks and balances" of inde- pendently elected policy-making Boards, we question whether such proliferation really serves the town well and whether responsibility for specific jobs is difficult to assign in the voter's mind. The trend at all levels of government today is toward centralizing re- sponsibility and authority in fewer officials whose work can be seen clearly and who can be removed or retained at election time 3 We believe that tighter administrative control and centralization are needed for increased efficiency and economy as well as freeing citizen participants for more important and broader concerns There has been universal agreement among those consulted that administrative decentral- ization is one of the most serious problems facing us and can only in- crease as the town grows larger, services expand and government oper- ations become more complex. We recognize the important steps recently taken, e g. the addition of Comptroller, assignment of additional duties to the selectmen's administrative assistant, and the salary and staff increases proposed this March. However, there appears to be general agreement that more must be done For example, we need fuller utilization of professional administrators at senior levels, mandatory sharing of equipment, centralized purchasing, maintenance, personnel management, and general services such as duplicating, mailing and addressing. 4 We believe that the Town Meeting needs more continuous information, analysis of issues, and advice to discharge its responsibilities We r -3- agree with the TMMA Structure of Government Committee's Report of March 1966 that "the Town Meeting falls short of accomplishing even such co- ordination of Town government as it alone is presently in a structural position to carry out " Although the Town Meeting can more closely approximate a true legislature under Home Rule, its new role needs definition as do the means to ensure its successful operation under these new conditions GOALS TOWARD WHICH STRUCTURAL CHANGES SHOULD BE DIRECTED 1. Ensure that citizens can function effectively in a variety of capacities and that a wi.er a : . . -ion o ci isen effort directly in government is made possible -7 2. Restructure the government so that the impact of or dependence on any particular person or group is minimized. 3 Clearly delineate and assign policy making and administrative functions in order to ensure the integration of policies and programs and the centralization and efficiency of administration. 4. Provide the Town Meeting with the means to accomplish its assigned role and to enable an informed and judicious vote 5. Ensure that the government remains responsive, accountable, easily accessible and clearly visible to the voter PLAN FOR FUTURE WORK We must determine what functions should and can now be performed under the wider authority granted us under Home Rule How should these functions be carried out so that an equitable balance is achieved? Some questions to be considered are 1. Do we more clearly assign responsibility within the existing structure to prevent gaps and overlaps? 2. Do we extend and strengthen the present system? 3 Do we realign, consolidate or abolish some existing boards and committees and/or create new ones? We must examine methods for strengthening and integrating physical planning as well as coordinating all aspects of municipal planning which will involve decisions regarding elected versus appointed boards and positions, procedural requirements for review and reporting We must determine the best ?ray of clarifying and centralizing the executiye and administrative structure and assigning this responsibility including serious consideration of the various forms of Town Manager as applied to Lexington We 'have been repeatedly urged to look carefully at the "strong manager form of / administration." We must explore ways of determining the availability of citizen talent and ensuring its use within the limits of effectiveness and relevance We must investigate means of improving the present role of the Town Meeting 1 and/or expanding it to approximate more nearly a true legislature While preparing our recommendations for related changes we will continue to: 1. Endorse devices advocated to make the existing structure function as originally intended. -4- 2. Review proposals of the Special Commission on Implementation from a mu- nicipal viewpoint and make suggestions and recommendations where appropriate 3. Advise the Commission of any portion of the general laws which we feel impedes the exercise of municipal judgment and adaptability to local conditions intended by the Home Rule Amendment, e.g. permissive legislation allowing latitude in term of Planning Board members rather than the mandatory five year term now required. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Our work has been greatly aided by the background provided in the TMMA study. Their comprehensive analysis of the government's organization and operation has proved invaluable as have their extensive files which contain the history of Lexington's political development, a review of practices, principles and laws which govern Massachusetts municipalities, and a collection of all special acts and amendments relating to Lexington's town government In addition, we are particularly grateful to all the citizens, town boards, committees, officers and employees who promptly responded to our request for written or verbal reactions to the TMMA recommendations These responses indicate some clear insight into structural inadequacies and serious thought as to the merits of alternative remedies Our meetings are always open and we welcome comments and suggestions Margery M. Battin, Chairman Alan G. Adams* Arthur E Bryson Stephen T Russian Lotte E. Scharfman * replacing H. J Hagedorn, resigned Sept 1966 3 Appendix Progress Report Structure of Government Committee 1. Met on the average of every two weeks since June 1, 1966. 2. Informal public meeting June 1 -- to discuss structural reform and obtain comments and questions on the proposals made March 166 in report of TMMA Structure of Government Committee 3 Reviewed and discussed audience response at public meeting 4. Assessed written reactions to the TMMA report which were requested from major town boards, committees, and officials 5 Met separately with the Moderator, Selectmen, Appropriation Committee 6. New members reviewed the files of their TMMA predecessor and studied municipal organization and procedures used elsewhere in the country 7 Discussed the implications for Lexington if the Home Rule Amendment passed. 8. Examined the need for interim action in order to alleviate problems not solvable structurally or to obviate the need for a structural change in the immediate future or as an admitted stop gap until a more major structural change could be effected by charter adoption or amendment 9. Explore the applicability to Lexington of the Winnetka, Illinois caucus system. This was done as a means of ensuring better candi- dates for elected office through the theory of "the office seeking the man, rather than the man the office " This mechanism proved illegal under present election laws which continue to remain within state domain under Home Rule 1 10. Reviewed the technical and practical aspects of the proposed Charter Procedures Act at the request of the Special Commission on Implementation. The suggestions developed by the committee and presented to the Commission by the Chairman were well received. For example, we note that a modification of one of our suggestions was in- corporated into the final bill. i e allowing votes on charter amendments to take place at a specially called town meeting in addition to the annual meeting. 11. Began to study the planning complex with emphasis on coordinating acquisition and development plans for conservation, recreation, park and school lands We tried to determine if, within the existing structure, we could find a mechanism for relating all of the boards charged with responsibilities in physical planning to one other through the Planning Board as well as a means of co- ordinating citizen warrant article proposals with those made officially This item was chosen for study at this time because of rapidly diminishing supply of large land tracts and in view of the frequently expressed concern regarding the lack of an overall policy for land acquisition and develop- ment The mechanism receiving the widest support r Appendix -2- was the procedural requirement of 'mandatory -m referral' of certain physical planning matters to the Planning Board for a written report and recommendation as a 'condition precedent' to Town Meeting vote The discussions we conducted with officials concerned were of mutual benefit as much informal agreement was reached as to where planning re- sponsibilities belong. For example, in the implementation of proposals for recreational development it was agreed that the role of the Planning Board is limited to the introduction of land acquisition articles, reminding or urging other agencies to act and staff support such as the preparation of plans and estimates We hope that the construction of recreation facilities will receive more sustained attention through assignment to the Permanent Building Committee 12. Collated and turned over to the Committee studying town office building requirements all the material in TMMA and this committee's files pertaining to office layout and space requirements These suggestions were not those of either committee but were offered,during the course of discussions over the past few years, by present and former officials and employees as well as local lawyers who have had to deal with town departments and records 13 Investigated the establishment of a Citizen Resource File If a questionnaire can be drafted to suit the needs of appointing authorities, easily distri- buted and economically mechanized, we can then determine if we wish to recommend that such a file be gathered, maintained and used and with whom the responsibility should lie While we have met with many officials and citizens of the town, there are many more with whom we intend to conduct discussions before filing our final report and recommendations