Just Posted by the Charter Review Committee along with some other stuff (still no update on the minutes, though):

PREPARING THE RECOMMENDATION:

This is the last in a series of four informational pieces about the work so far of the Charter Review Committee.  If you’ve missed any of the earlier articles, they can be found on the town website www.wareham.ma.us or can be picked up at the Clerk’s office in Town Hall or at the Library.
In our last article we explained how our preference for a form of government with a town council and mayor came about.  Let us review the situation that led us here:
Wanting a legislative body that 1) could represent a greater % of the citizenry than the present town meeting and  2) would meet continually throughout the year, we saw that a representative town council would achieve both goals;  better representation, and a body that can take the time to study and debate issues in Wareham needing to be resolved AND be able to address issues as they arise, rather than but once or twice a year.
In any town having a town council, by Massachusetts law, the executive branch must be either an appointed Town Manager, a Mayor chosen by the Council, or an elected Mayor.
Wanting full accountability from our executive branch (and welcoming the elimination of the present confusion re Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator about overall administration versus day-to-day administration) we saw that we could have full accountability in an elected full time executive, a mayor, whose ongoing task would be to oversee the administration of the town and be responsible to the voters.
In researching other towns that have moved from a town meeting form of government to a government consisting of a town council and a mayor, we noted that their Charters, although similar, also exhibited differences: differences of, for example, terms of office, how vacancies are handled, compensation of officials, eligibility for office, some duties of council members, and citizen initiative measures.
If we adopt this system, we learned, there are certain rules that must be followed as well as allowing us great variation to fit our particular town. 
For example, the number of council members is determined by the number of town precincts; a town, such as Wareham, having seven or fewer precincts must have an eleven-member council. We, therefore, would vote for  a representative from each of our six precincts plus vote for 5 members  at large. 
Some examples of other decisions regulated by the Plan are the following:
The Town Clerk is appointed by the Council
The School Committee is to be elected.
The Council cannot exercise any executive power and the Mayor cannot exercise any legislative power.
The Mayor can veto some ordinances created by the Council, and the Council can override that veto with a 2/3 affirmative vote.

The Committee began, Article by Article and Section by Section, to write a new Charter for Wareham. The first draft was, and each subsequent draft will be, submitted to a  Kopelman and Paige attorney for review:
to ensure that we changed nothing that could not be changed,
to alert us to ambiguous or confusing language, 
to point out any possible untoward consequences of alternatives we proposed, 
and to offer general guidance from the attorney’s extensive experience with other town committees rewriting their Charters.
At this writing, we have completed a second draft of Articles 1-3.  Article 1 of the Charter deals with definitions, the broad form of the government, and the division of powers.
Article 2 addresses the legislative branch: composition of the Council, terms of office, eligibility of candidates, powers and duties, compensation, and vacancies.  Article 3 addresses these same concerns as regards the executive branch.
Subsequent Articles will address the School Department, Citizen Initiatives, and Transitional Provisions, i.e. rules for moving from our present form of government to a new one. Other Articles may or may not be included in regard to other departments,  the Library, and the Board of Assessors.
In a town meeting form of government, the town operates under by-laws; under a town council form of government the town operates under ordinances.
During a transitional period, when a town changes from a town meeting to a town council form of government,  the town functions under the existing by-laws (so long as they are not in conflict with the new Charter), and one of the first tasks of the new council is to decide which of the old by-laws  will be carried over “as is” to ordinances and which will be rewritten.  For this reason, you will see no rules and regulations, other than those mentioned above, in the new Charter.
As the work continues, you are invited to ask questions and to make comments and suggestions, either through the town website where a write-in mechanism is being set up or  at either the Town Hall or  the Library, where a Charter Review “Comment Box” is being placed.
With this information from you, beginning with the week of September 21 and twice monthly after that, we will have a column in the Wareham Courier and Wareham Observer  in which to respond to your views and concerns  and answer your questions, whether they are about clarification of Charter content or explanation of Committee thinking and reasoning.  We are sure you will have questions about both the broad plan to change our form of government and the specifics of the new form. This column will also be reproduced on the town website.
As we continue, the work in progress can be seen on the town website.;  but you will not be looking at a final draft until,  after we have heard and taken into consideration your views, the Committee takes a final vote and we’ve  gotten attorney validation that the new Charter conforms to regulation.
In addition, there will other opportunities to learn more and to have a voice.  Near the end of September or in early October, some members of the Committee will appear on Paul Ciccotelli’s morning program on WCTV (8-10)  to talk about the proposed recommendation.  Other public events will be announced both on the website and through the papers. The Charter Review Committee meets the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at 6 PM, Multi-Service Center, to which the public is always welcome.
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