Danvers committee opens review of Town Manager Act, flags town-accountant and residency issues

After completing work on recall'petition language, the Town Meeting/Town Manager Acts Review Committee turned to the Town Manager Act on Dec. 18 and identified three priority areas for the next meetings: clarifying the town accountant's role, considering residency requirements for certain appointments, and assessing how "strong" the town manager's authority should be.

Several members urged the committee to move section by section at its next session so proposed changes could be drafted and discussed concretely rather than debated only at a conceptual level. One member summarized the pragmatic case for a stronger manager: "I'm a proponent of the strong town manager as the position, mostly because I have faith in someone that is involved day to day to make appointments" and who understands municipal operations, he said.

Members noted that some local boards and commissions (for example, historic preservation bodies) are governed by separate state statutes that affect appointment procedures. The chair asked members to review a working draft of the Town Manager Act and an organizational chart before the next meeting to identify any boards or functions missing from the current draft.

The committee scheduled the next meeting for Jan. 15, 2025, and said it would attempt to add a second January meeting if space allows. Committee work on the Town Manager Act will continue in January, with members asked to provide section'level edits and to consider how the act should treat appointment authority, reporting requirements, and resident'vs.'nonresident employment rules.

The meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m.