Methuen charter review panel says more time needed, approves Articles 7–9 and schedules next steps

The Methuen City Charter Review Committee met in September 2025 and voted to approve Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the proposed charter revisions while saying the full review will take longer than some council members had hoped.

The committee’s chair opened the meeting and told members the group would not be ready to meet an Oct. 1 deadline requested by a councilor. “I made it clear that we’re not gonna be ready by October 1,” the chair said, adding that the committee had faced attendance and room-availability issues and that a realistic completion target was “probably February.” The chair said the committee will send the revisions to the Collins Center and to the solicitor for review, hold a public hearing after those reviews, and then forward the final draft to the City Council.

Why it matters: the committee is drafting a consolidated charter intended to modernize Methuen’s municipal governance. Members repeatedly emphasized accuracy and clarity over speed, saying it is better to delay a complete, vetted draft than to rush a version that draws many amendments later.

What the committee approved: votes at the meeting accepted routine agenda and minutes and approved Articles 7, 8 and 9 as presented.

Votes at a glance • Motion to accept meeting agenda — motion made and seconded; chair declared the motion carried (ayes). (motion moved early in meeting) • Accept minutes, 07/02/2025 — carried with a recorded tally of 5 yes and 2 members voting ‘present’ (members said they had not attended that earlier meeting). • Accept minutes, 08/14/2025 — carried with 5 ayes and 2 recorded as ‘present.’ • Accept Article 7 (administration and finance as presented) — motion carried unanimously. • Accept Article 8 (nominations and elections, precincts/districts) — motion carried unanimously after brief discussion of precinct numbering and state redistricting. • Accept Article 9 (petitions, initiatives, recall, required voter participation) — motion carried unanimously; committee clarified that recall petitions require at least 20% of the voters of the most recent regular election.

Next steps and schedule: committee members asked staff to circulate the consolidated draft and the Collins Center’s comments and asked the solicitor to provide suggested alternate language on a small number of provisions that could rely on special acts. Members agreed to review section 2‑8 and Article 10 (definitions) at the next meeting, and to finalize the chronology of charter amendments for insertion in the draft. The chair asked staff to post minutes online more promptly. The committee set a tentative follow-up meeting for Thursday the 18th with a 5:00 p.m. start time to be confirmed by email; the meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m.

The chair said the committee would not sacrifice careful drafting for speed and reiterated the procedural path: internal review, Collins Center feedback, solicitor review, a committee meeting with Collins Center to address recommendations, a public hearing, and then City Council consideration.