By Enzo Rotatori
Greenfield is the most recent community in
Massachusetts to change its Charter to become a city. On July 1, 2003,
its form of government was revised to provide for the election of a
mayor along with City Council members.
As with a number of other
towns in Massachusetts, it was determined that Greenfield's form of
government was unable to adequately govern its community.
It was
planned that the mayor would serve as the chief executive officer and
be answerable to the residents. A “strong” Mayor would be expected to
make numerous beneficial changes to the existing structure of the City.
The term for this office is three years and elected on a non-partisan
basis.
I contacted the current mayor of Greenfield, William
Martin, who offered to provide insight to changes that occurred after
becoming a city. He also recommended that I call Attorney David Singer,
Greenfield Town Council President, for details.
Mr. Singer provided information via email and in a 30-minute telephone interview.
The following is a quote from Attorney Singer:
“From
my point of view, Greenfield needed to have a leader who was full time,
powerful, elected and accountable in order for our community to compete
for new resources. The select board and Town Administrator were slow,
and needed consensus to do anything. Since we changed, our community has
moved forward with economic development in a way not seen before. There
are downsides, of course, and that would be the powerful nature of the
executive. Therefore, you need to elect someone you trust. We also do
not have party politics. Instead, anyone can run by getting
signatures.”
Mr. Singer said that there were eleven candidates for the mayoral position. Eventually, two finalists were on the ballot. The first mayor turned out to be ineffective, he said, and acted more like an administrator with no desire to make changes. The
current elected mayor, William Martin, is a dynamic, take- charge
person who understood that Greenfield needed to make changes in order to
survive.
I was told that his first year in office was traumatic
because of implemented changes. He fulfilled expectations as the leader
of Greenfield, but many employees were impacted accordingly,.
Since he was reelected to another term, the fruits of his efforts must have been evident and acceptable to Greenfield residents. Currently, the Town Council consists of four at-large members and nine other members elected by precinct.
The
other Town boards are appointed with the exception of the seven members
of the School Committee, which currently consists of the Mayor plus six
elected at large.
Attorney Singer also mentioned that the magnitude
of power given to the Mayor needs to be guided by the City’s charter
language regarding ethics and honesty.
Recently published
articles regarding Braintree and Weymouth, where both cities have a
strong Mayoral-style government, resulted in improved bond ratings,
municipal services and less government waste.
________________________
Mr.
Rotatori, former Town Meeting Member and Chair of the Framingham
Taxpayers Association, opens the debate on Town versus City on Xtra
Xtra. If you wish to join in, your opinions are welcome. Email your
comments to the editor, Larry Schmeidler, at schmeid@verizon.net. You
must, however, provide your full, verifiable name.