Interesting article in the North Weekly sectio n about Winthrop residents' struggling with their form of government. (update: i forgot the link.)
It appears they shifted from a selectman-style form of government to one made up of a town administrator and nine-person town council. This is one form of government that will come up for discussion if the city endorses a review of its charter.
The shortcomings are pretty obvious. The town manager, who left for a similar position in Dennis, was seen as autocratic and unresponsive to the public's needs. However, he was credited for getting things accomplished including (if I'm reading correctly) getting the city employees to sign onto the infamous state health insurance plan.
Now that he's gone, Winthrop residents are considering undergoing another charter change--or more of a charter tweak--that would give the town council more power, and the administrator a bit less.
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, and it's certainly something to mind as we ponder our own form of government.
Incidentally, I intend to help collect signatures necessary to put the Charter Review Question on the ballot. If anyone wants to sign but can't find a petition feel free to shoot me an email. I'll make sure you get the chance.
If you have any thoughtful questions I suggest checking in with friend, neighbor and Ward 4 Councilor Ed Cameron. He's at edcameronNBPT@gmail.com.
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9 comments:
Hi Tom,
If memory serves me well, Winthrop created an unusual hybrid form of government with a Manager/Mayor/Council form. When reading their Charter, centers of power seemed murky, so I am not surprised to see that they are revisiting the issue.
James Shanley
Excellet picture of Chip Wyser.
Tom,
Thanks for blogging about the Winthrop article. I actually was going to blog about it--and you beat me to it! And with much more coherence.
The Winthrop story is a cautionary tale on a few levels:
1) Be Careful What You Wish For--sounds like their previous structure was marked by indecisiveness, so they concentrated executive power. The position now makes decisions.
2) Leadership--we expect a lot from local leadership: Decisive but not too pushy; bright but not a know-it-all; knowledgeable in all areas including budgets, finances, bonding, union negotiations, infrastructure, education, pothole fixing; experienced but not so experienced to the point where we can't afford you; inclusive but must be quick about it; and great communications skills including ability to communicate with constituents telepathically. The Winthrop guy sounds like he traded off inclusiveness for productivity.
3)Structure and Staffing--you can have the right structure but pick the wrong person.
Anyway all interesting.
Ed Cameron
For a minute there, I thought I was reading Councilor Cameron's resume.
Councilor Shanley
why, exactly do you support the charter change, tom? What changes are you looking for?
Good question anon6:54. I'll address in future post.
Correction: Winthrop's form of government has no mayor, just a town council and manager. it might serve some local charter change fans to know that one of the objections to the current system in that town is the fact that the executive authority rests solely in the hands of an unelected official, a town manager. Even having a figurehead, councillor mayor, as some Newburyport charter change proponents already seem to have decided, was viewed in Winthrop during the intitial charter change a few years ago as not providing an acountable executive.
Councillor Shanley,
Yes, that does sound just like me...except for the knowledgeable part;-).
Ed
Hey councilors --- get a room!
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