Mayor delivers final compromised version of Medford City Charter to City Council
The following was submitted by the Office of the Mayor:
After reviewing all of the Medford City Council’s edits, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn has announced the final version of the city’s long anticipated City Charter has been delivered back to the City Council for a final vote at the April 8 regular meeting before being sent to the Legislature in hopes of appearing on the ballot for voter approval in November.
This final compromised version upholds the survey results and recommendation from the Charter Study Committee of increasing the number of city councilors to 11, with eight councilors being elected by each ward and the remaining three members being councilors-at-large who shall be nominated and elected by and from the voters at large.
Two years ago, the mayor formed a Charter Study Committee to comprehensively study the city’s current charter, gather input from the community, and propose recommendations on changes to the existing document, which had not been reviewed or updated in over 40 years.
The members of the committee have been working in collaboration with the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at UMass Boston to develop a governing document that reflects the current needs of the city, offers comprehensive policy solutions, and ensures that all members of the community are fairly and accurately represented.
“I feel this is an extremely strong document that reflects the needs of our community, solidifies the survey results and the recommendations that the Charter Study Committee has heard through over a year and a half of community meetings and the public survey,” Lungo-Koehn said. “I am so incredibly proud of all of the hard work our diverse Charter Study Committee has done to listen to the people. The help from the Collins Center, edits from the City Council and this final draft has all led to a charter that is truly emblematic of our city’s values.
“This final draft makes concessions, and it is not a perfect representation for all members of our community, but the Collins Center believes that as long as this version receives support at the City Council, it will be approved by the state Legislature and appear on the ballot in November,” she continued. “Thank you to the council for considering this draft and we hope for a positive outcome.”
The council recommended removing the position of mayor as chair of the School Committee. Lungo-Koehn agreed to that change as long as ward representation remains as the committee intended.
“The Charter Study Group, which I was the liaison to, was one of the most diverse committees that I have been involved with,” Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Frances Nwajei said. “This was demonstrated by the members who brought their diversity of thought, political, educational, socio economical, age, disability, and occupational perspectives. All public outreach materials were translated into our six environmental justice languages to get a broad cross section of our community’s needs. The best part was that the public survey received over 650 responses.”
“The Collins Center is honored to have assisted the mayor, City Council, and the citizen-led Charter Review Committee in their efforts to enhance the city charter for the benefit of Medford residents,” said Anthony I. Wilson, Esq., Practice Area Lead for Charters and Organizational Structure.
You can find more information including the revised compromised charter delivered to the City Council at medfordma.org/charter.
The April 8 City Council meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Alden Memorial Chambers and be available on Medford Community and via zoom. Zoom information and the meeting agenda will be available at medfordma.org/events.
