SAUGUS — As town officials debate the merits of the transition from town government to city government, Framingham — the last community in the state to undergo the switch — could serve as a model for proponents of the idea.
Framingham convened its charter commission in 2016, spending most of that year crafting the charter and producing a final report in 2017. One of the members of that nine-member commission, John Stefanini — currently a city councilor representing the city’s eighth district — said the idea of altering the then-town’s charter came from a sense that it had outgrown the town form of government, which the Division of Local Services described as “traditional, organizationally flatter and less legislatively nimble.”
Frustrations with the town form of government stemmed from a sense that the town could no longer be “efficient and effective in managing the people’s business,” said Stefanini.
“The town from a government works very well in smaller, more affluent communities,” he said. “If your community is complicated or has complex agendas to deal with, it becomes very difficult for the community to speak with a clear voice.”
Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano, who is driving the proposal in Saugus, has said it’s his belief that the town has reached that point, saying Saugus has “outgrown” its current form of government in which a town manager serves as the chief executive and residents elect five Board of Selectmen members, five School Committee members and five Town Meeting members per precinct every two years.
But Framingham may not represent a perfect analog.
The now-city’s population sits at over 70,000 people. Saugus, on the other hand, has just over 28,000.
That said, according to the census figures posted on the state legislature’s website, 28 communities statewide have populations roughly between 30,000 and 40,000. Of those 28, 12 are cities, meaning Saugus, which is likely to exceed 30,000 people in the coming years, would not be a dramatic outlier in terms of population.
Framingham’s charter commission worked quickly, as the process of drafting a charter typically takes up to 18 months, which includes time for the attorney general’s office to review the proposal.
Stefanini explained that once voters approved the revised charter in April of 2017, Framingham held its first election for mayor in November of that year.
A key part of drafting the charter was establishing how exactly the transition from a representative Town Meeting form of government to a city form of government happens, he said. The charter, which is posted to the city’s website, devotes 10 pages to explaining the transition process.
The transition between forms of government took place over the course of roughly nine months, with the city’s new mayor and city council assuming power on Jan. 1, 2018, after their election the previous November. During that period, the Board of Selectmen was urged to only conduct essential business to keep the town functioning.
Stefanini said the transition was a key part of the drafting process, but shouldn’t necessarily be viewed as a one-size-fits-all solution.
“It’s like getting a suit. It’s tailored just to the uses of the particular community,” Stefanini explained.
The formation of a charter commission, Stefanini cautioned, doesn’t necessarily equate to a drastic governmental change like the one Framingham underwent. A commission is formed to study the current charter and make changes as the body deems fit.
In Saugus, that could mean that even if Cogliano gets his wish and a commission is formed, its members may not recommend the dramatic overhaul of the charter he is pushing for.
“You can’t make the presumption that the creation of the charter commission is changing the form of government, because that’s not the purpose of the charter commission,” Stefanini said. “The purpose of the charter commission is to review the form of government. It could come back and say we want to change the powers of the town manager or we want to elect the planning board.”
With the new form of government in place for five years now, Stefanini said, Framingham has achieved exactly what it set out to with the formation of the commission in the first place.
Participation in municipal elections has risen dramatically, as has engagement with local government. Gone are the days of confusion over who to go to with neighborhood issues, with residents having defined officials to oversee their districts in city councilors, he said.
“Did we achieve our three goals of efficiency, accountability and participation? I think we did in a very meaningful way,” he said.