Danvers review committee approves draft revisions to Town Meeting and Town Manager acts

The Danvers Town Meeting/Town Manager Acts Review Committee voted May 14 in the Daniel J. Toomey hearing room at Town Hall to accept a final draft report and redlined revisions to the Town Meeting Act and the Town Manager Act and to prepare the materials for delivery to the Select Board and the Finance Committee.

The action follows the committee's multi-meeting review of the two acts; members said the packet to the Select Board will include a cover memo, the final report, and the redlined versions of both acts so town meeting members and town officials can trace the proposed changes. Committee chair Sally (chair of the Danvers Town Meeting/Town Manager Acts Review Committee) said she planned to deliver the packet to town staff the next day so it can be included with the Select Board materials.

Members emphasized procedural and textual changes in the redlines. The draft replaces the historic term "selectmen" with "Select Board" throughout the documents and standardizes a review trigger now worded to require review of the acts at least once every 20 years or sooner "as decided…