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1) Implement best practices for municipal charters and governance structures
In order for cities and towns to meet the challenges of the coming years, they must be organized according to a rational structure that promotes responsiveness and accountability. To establish this structure, all municipalities in the region should adopt a municipal charter and revisit it periodically.

A municipal charter is the written instrument that defines the government structure under which a city and town operates. A charter creates local offices; distributes powers, duties and responsibilities among local offices; and defines the procedures to be followed by a city or town government. Charters should account for the basic institutions of local government (the legislative body, the executive and school governance) and for meeting the responsibilities delegated by the state. 

Many municipalities lack formal modern charters; instead they rely on historical arrangements that represent vestiges of the Plymouth Charter and subsequent special acts, adopted piecemeal. Creating or modifying a charter can be done in three ways: through an elected charter commission, through an appointed municipal committee, or (extremely rarely) by the Governor.

There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to municipal charters. However, there are principles and best practices to promote efficient governance. Such principles include:

• strong executive authority capable of running the municipal government on behalf of the public, hiring and overseeing staff, and implementing modern management practices;
• a legislative authority clearly authorized to establish broad policy, to approve ordinances by-laws, and to adopt a budget; and
• a system of governing public education is a way that encourages excellence, efficiency, and accountability.

Effective charters also avoid fragmented organizational design, which plagues many cities and towns in Massachusetts, causes lengthy delays in decisionmaking, and makes is difficult for a community to speak with a single voice.

The state should take a proactive role to foster the adoption of charters that support effective governance. Much like the model for corporations, the state might establish a basic framework and alternative models appropriate to different circumstances, require periodic reporting, and establish a body of business practice parameters specific to local government. The organizational options for cities identified in the Massachusetts General Laws (Plan A, Plan B, etc) are not specific enough to guide charter development, nor are they applicable to towns.

After alternative models and best practices have been identified, municipalities still require technical assistance with drafting a municipal-specific charter and conducting a public process. Staff at the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts at Boston are currently assisting cities and towns with these efforts. Creation or modification of a municipal charter requires investment of time and money, but these investments are returned through a much more efficient form of government. In particular, some towns such as Braintree and Weymouth have recently adopted a city form of government, which provides for more efficient governance. Other populous towns should consider this option.

1.a MAPC will collaborate with the UMass Collins Center and other stakeholders to develop and disseminate best practices for municipal charters

1.b The Commonwealth should require all cities and towns to adopt, and to periodically review, municipal charters

1.c The region’s more populous towns should evaluate adoption of a city form of government

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2) Improve the effectiveness of Town Meeting form of government
In order to meet the needs of their residents, towns need to implement modern forms of municipal decision-making, despite the strong pull of tradition. New England town meetings don’t need to disappear from the political landscape of Massachusetts, but they do need to be reformed to establish accountability. More use should be made of representative town meetings or councils, which provide a stronger correlation between local legislative bodies and the people they represent. The consistency of purpose, balanced representation of interests, and accountability of elected officials inherent in representative government better ensure that the people’s business can be conducted effectively, efficiently and in their broader interest with identifiable access and redress.

The open town meeting form of government is a powerful tradition in MetroBoston, but its inefficiencies and idiosyncrasies have the potential to impede progress, consistency of purpose, and responsive decision-making. Special interest groups can disproportionately impact the outcomes of open town meetings through narrow, issue-oriented organizing, empowering various issueoriented minorities at the expense of the majority. The inconsistency and volatility of open town meeting impede a governing body’s responsibility to think, plan and act strategically with its focus on the long-range viability of the community (and its regional neighbors.) Open town meeting can also effectively disenfranchise people who find it difficult to attend town meeting, such as the elderly, single-parent households, the parents of young children, or people with disabilities.

Representative town meeting also has its challenges. The current model, which designates a number of elected delegates to represent a voting precinct (at typical ratios of 10 delegates per 1,000 to 2,000 residents), results in a cumbersome process as hundreds of representatives assemble at substantial taxpayer expense (Framingham, for example, has over 200 Town Meeting members.) Even more important, each precinct of voters may have dozens of representatives, making it difficult for constituents to hold their (many) representatives accountable for decisions with which they disagree.

Most towns in the MAPC region have populations large enough and challenges complex enough to warrant the use of representative town meeting. The many towns in the region that are still using open town meeting should strongly consider moving to a representative town meeting, through a Special Act or through revision of their charter. In doing so, they would benefit from guidance regarding representation ratios that promote accountability

2.a More towns should adopt representative town meeting

2.b MAPC and the UMass Collins Center should develop guidance for the implementation of representative town meeting

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3) Review the Commonwealth’s home rule structure and revise as necessary
Metro Boston’s future requires contemporary forms of governance based on unity of purpose, accountable to the local population, and able to deliver services cost-effectively and to legislate efficiently. A review of the current home rule structure may identify opportunities to resolve the complex myriad of statutes that unnecessarily limit local control, are in conflict with each other, or are otherwise obsolete and counterproductive

The current home rule structure leaves cities and towns less able to respond to the economic and demographic shifts, with local governments having little control over taxes, fees and borrowing. Local governments have historically struggled with the myriad of “local control” mechanisms and responsibilities set out in state law, which often put local officials at odds with each other over jurisdiction and autonomy. An antiquated and confusing framework of local governance combined with limitations on municipal autonomy perpetuates state intercession at the local level. The need for legislative approval as well as the cumbersome home rule charter process has led to an archive of locally targeted “session laws” of the state legislature that annually numbers in the hundreds and accounts for a significant portion of the legislation passed by the legislature each year. The process of legislative approval is often slow and may result in political realities and processes hampering a local community’s need for action to react to the quickly evolving world. The end result is a loss of efficiency for both the municipalities and the legislature.

As a follow-up to the 1964 passage of the Home Rule Amendment, a special commission was supposed to be established that would reconcile all the general laws with that Amendment; that work was never done.

3.a The Legislature should establish a Special Commission to review the current structure of “home rule” approval in the Commonwealth

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4) Use the internet to enhance transparency and civic participation
Municipalities can make greater use of the Internet to create greater transparency and facilitate civic participation in local government. Municipalities should invest time and resources to utilize technology for three reasons. First, citizens have come to turn to the Internet as a primary source of information and a mechanism for financial transactions. Second, the Internet can also supplement existing notification and participation procedures. Finally, technology can enhance transparency by making public municipal records more easily available.  Although expertise and access to home computers varies, most citizens have access through schools, workplaces, and public libraries.

There are a variety of standards and best practices that municipalities should adhere to as they strengthen their Internet presence. Application of accessibility and usability standards will ensure that people with disabilities can use a municipal website. Standards also facilitate access by people with fewer computer skills and those using different technologies, including older technologies (e.g., slower Internet connections) and newer technologies (e.g., mobile devices).

Municipal websites in Metro Boston vary widely and some are more useful than others, by virtue of their design, content, or frequency of updates. A compilation of “best practices” and exemplary websites will provide models for the improvement of local sites. The Massachusetts Municipal Association may be the best organization to prepare such a product.

There are tremendous opportunities to move more municipal activities online, where they can be more effective and efficient. Posting legal notices online is a fundamental first step; others may include on-line permit tracking, budget information, and performance reporting.

4.a Municipalities should ensure that their websites meet existing standards for accessibility and usability

4.b MAPC, the Collins Center at UMass, and the Massachusetts Municipal Association should initiate an effort to create best practices guidelines for municipal websites

4.c Municipalities should post to the Internet all notices legally required to be posted at city hall or in legal advertisements

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5) Resolve remaining vestiges of county government
County government is still being supported by municipal assessments in Norfolk, Plymouth, and Suffolk counties. The Legislature should seriously consider whether the vestiges of county government are necessary in Metropolitan Boston, which operates as a single economic region unrelated to the county boundaries that date back to Massachusetts Bay Colony. If the Legislature chooses to continue with any form of county government, they should not be a financial drain on cities on towns.

5.a MAPC and allied organizations should collaborate to define options for the reform or elimination of remaining county governments

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