Charter Review Close to Completion

Changes in the Selectmen’s name and in the appointment of the Assessors were the most substantive Charter changes approved at Special Town Meeting on November 4.

With Town Meeting approval, the changes recommended by the Charter and By-Law Review Committee updating Bedford’s central documents are almost complete.  The changes must also be approved by the voters at the Town Election in March, followed by a final step, the Attorney General’s approval.

In the end, the “Selectmen” will be called “the Select Board,” removing the only gender-specific title in the Charter.  (See Emily Mitchell’s comment on the name change at
https://thebedfordcitizen.org/2019/11/select-people-by-any-name/

The Town Assessor will be appointed by the Town Manager with the approval of the Board of Assessors. The Town Manager will also supervise the Town Assessor and other employees of the department. One resident, who spelled out his many frustrations dealing with the Board of Assessors, welcomed the change and said he hoped that in the future the board would be eliminated altogether.

Get The Bedford Citizen in your inbox!



The Charter changes include a strong statement that members of any board, commission or committee should consider it their duty to attend Town Meeting, but henceforth the Charter will require that at least one member must attend every session of Town Meeting.

All recommended changes to the Charter may be found in the official minutes of the Town Meeting by clicking https://www.bedfordma.gov/sites/bedfordma/files/news/stm_minutes2019.pdf

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Subscribe
Notify of

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

All Stories

What’s Bedford Thinking about the Red Sox?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Junior Landscaping
Go toTop