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Select Board approves drafts of Town Meeting Act, Town Manager Act and revised recall bylaw for Dec. 16 public hearing
Summary
The Danvers Select Board moved the Select Board versions of the Town Meeting Act and Town Manager Act, and directed town counsel/manager to prepare recall bylaw warrant language (with an agreed edit to section h). Those drafts will be posted for public hearing on Dec. 16 and may form warrant articles for a special or annual town meeting.
The Select Board reviewed drafts of three governance‑related warrant articles—Town Meeting Act, Town Manager Act and a recall bylaw—and voted to move the Town Meeting Act and Town Manager Act as the board’s recommended warrant language, asking town counsel to fix minor clerical errors and ensure consistent finance‑committee language across both drafts.
On the recall bylaw, members debated scope and protections, including whether a vote by an elected official should ever constitute grounds for recall. The board agreed to remove language in section h that would bar appointment of someone who resigned while recall proceedings were pending; the board instead left a bar for those who were actually recalled. A motion directing the town manager to draft warrant language for the recall bylaw with the agreed change passed with one abstention. The board set a public hearing for Dec. 16, when the public may comment on the drafts and the board may decide whether to set the warrant for a special town meeting or use the regular warrant process.
The drafts will be posted on the town website ahead of the public hearing. If the board proceeds, the next steps include finance committee review (tentatively Jan. 15) and a special town meeting in early 2026 or inclusion in the annual town meeting warrant in May.
