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Lynn City Council approves package of charter revisions, sends Home Rule petition to Legislature
Summary
After months of review, the council voted to adopt a package of charter reforms recommended by the Charter Review Committee and to petition the General Court to enact the new charter; the vote included several council-led amendments addressing appointments, discipline standards and retained special acts.
The Lynn City Council voted unanimously on April 8 to approve a package of charter revisions developed by the Charter Review Committee and to petition the Massachusetts Legislature to enact those changes as a Home Rule petition.
The charter update, which the committee recommended after meeting multiple times in 2024, modernizes governance language, establishes new processes for capital planning and budget preparation, and changes how municipal reorganizations and certain appointments are handled.
Supporters said the revisions restore more local authority over reorganization, set clearer budget planning steps and improve transparency. "This recommendation from the Charter Review Committee would make good-government, common-sense reforms to the way the city is governed," Mayor Jared C. Nicholson told the council during the public hearing. Joseph E. Scanlon III, a former councilor and committee member, said the package returns discretion to local government that the city lost under a 1985 law.
Council amendments adopted during the meeting include language tied to council staffing and to standards for removal of department heads. Councilors added a provision creating a council-employed attorney position by replacing the word "may" with "shall" in the council-staffing clause (section 2-7c as discussed during the meeting). Councilors also required that removals be handled in accordance with applicable laws, and during debate inserted the term "just cause" into the transition language governing progressive-discipline procedures for department heads.
The council opened the charter package to line-by-line discussion and adopted a set of additional technical amendments that the Collins Center and city attorneys had prepared. The final motion, to petition the General Court to enact the proposed charter as amended, passed by roll call. The council recorded a unanimous affirmative vote with one member absent (Councilor Meany). The approved summary and the full 34-page charter text will be filed as part of the Home Rule petition process.
The council also voted to retain or recognize a set of local special acts (listed by chapter in the administrative-code section) to allow the mayor’s reorganization plans to operate without immediate repeal of those prior authorizations.
What happens next: the mayor and council will submit the Home Rule petition to the Massachusetts Legislature; the petition requires approval by the House, Senate and governor before the new charter would take effect. The council did not set a local referendum as part of this package; the enacted route is the Home Rule petition.
Speakers during the hearing included Mayor Jared C. Nicholson, Attorney Jim Lamanna (appearing as city counsel/legal advisor), members of the Charter Review Committee and several residents and former officials who spoke in favor or offered suggestions.
The council president closed the hearing by thanking committee members, city staff and the public for their work on the revisions.
