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Charter Review Commission finalizes survey edits, plans Nov. 30 distribution and Dec. public hearings
Summary
The commission agreed to non‑substantive edits to the citizen survey and tasked the city clerk and IT to publish it by Nov. 30; commissioners set a Dec. 4 internal meeting for referendum proposals and public hearings for Dec. 11 and Dec. 18 to gather community feedback.
Chairperson called the Charter Review Commission to order and moved the meeting into business, saying the survey the commission previously voted to approve had received only grammatical and numbering edits and could be released without a new vote. "The surveys are ready to go," the chairperson said, and asked commissioners to provide lists of organizations for distribution.
The most immediate decision was scheduling: commissioners agreed the finalized survey should hit the street by Nov. 30. The chairperson said the city clerk (Linda) must provide the file to IT so it can be posted online. "They said we just need it from Linda," the chairperson said when describing IT's requirements. Commissioners discussed how long to leave the survey open; positions differed. Several commissioners recommended a return deadline in mid‑December to allow tabulation before public hearings; one proposal set the survey close on Dec. 13, while the chairperson suggested Dec. 20. The commission agreed to meet on Dec. 4 to discuss proposed referendum questions, with public hearings planned for Dec. 11 and Dec. 18.
Commissioners emphasized outreach logistics. Deborah Bradford (commission member) described how a QR code would work on paper and electronic versions of the survey: "Scan this code...it will instantly launch the survey in their browser," she said, adding the QR code should be prominent on the city website. Commissioners requested translated survey materials (Spanish discussed) and asked that colleges and partner organizations (Alvernia and RAC were mentioned by name during distribution planning) assist with outreach and student tabulation.
The body reaffirmed that the recent edits were formatting and clarity improvements — fixing misnumbering and renaming a duplicate entry of "North Reading" to avoid confusion — and staff counsel advised those changes did not require rescinding last week's approval. An unidentified commissioner moved to approve the minutes of the Nov. 13 meeting; the motion was seconded and, after a voice vote, the chair announced the minutes were accepted.
Next steps: commissioners must submit proposed referendum questions by Nov. 30 so the Dec. 4 meeting can focus on discussion and prioritization. The chair asked each commissioner to recruit community members to attend the Dec. public hearings and stressed the need for interpreters and translated materials. The meeting adjourned after a motion to close was seconded and the chair ended with a blessing.
