Pondering a Change in the Rules

Mansfield may again be facing a push toward charter change, following recent articles and columns pointing out the inefficiencies of the century old Town Meeting system of government in Mansfield, as well as a lackluster season of elections and town meetings in this community and others nearby.

Dan Pascucci, who hosts a community affairs program called "Everything but the Kitchen Sink" on the local access cable channel, told selectmen this week he thinks it's time the town took another serious look at whether or not Town Meeting best serves the interest of Mansfield, when getting a quorum of 200 people into the high school gym to vote the budget often requires a superhuman effort.

Pascucci reminded board members the last charter reform effort was 12 - 14 years ago.

"The last Town Meeting was a disgrace," Pascucci said. "The turnout was terrible." He commented he was not convinced the quorum of 200 was even present in the hall to vote, as residents were only required to sign in to be counted.

Some of the questions a charter committee might tackle, he said, include whether the Town Manager and the school Superintendent should be required to live in Mansfield, and whether or not to keep the quorum as it is.

"I just want to get this thing going," said Pascucci. "You can't live in the past and the present at the same time." He said town meeting reflected a time when part of the draw was the social aspect of the get-together in an era where "there wasn't anything else to do."

He said what many others have, that particularly when there is a school-related vote, people wait until their issue is voted, and then they leave.

Board member Kevin Moran pointed out Town Meeting had always been able to do the job it was designed for - to keep the budget balanced, and to hang onto valuable staff members.

"That is not Town Meeting," Pascucci said. "That depends on people like you."

Moran insisted what the community had been doing has been working, and said the "strong town manager" form of government Mansfield practices is responsible for much of the success. "We give Bill (Ross, Town Manager) a great deal of authority," Moran said. "We are five part time guys." He also said residents who are really interested in the town's interests should get involved long before Town Meeting.

Ross pointed out he knew of several communities that had recently switched to a representative town meeting or town council format.

"They are really struggling with that change," he said. "All decisions are made by a town council - it creates difficulties within the community."

He noted in one town, there was a straw vote by the residents to go back to the Town Meeting they had rejected.

Ross himself, who has spent all of his time as a town administrator in the Midwest where Town Meeting is unknown, said even with its fits and starts, he appreciates the democratic model Town Meeting represents.

"I'm getting so I kind of like it," he said.

Selectmen agreed to consider a charter review for the future, but gave no guarantees.

In order to put together a committee and start the work, a petition is circulated for signatures, requiring that 15 percent of the population approve the formation of a review committee. Members of the committee are then elected at a general ballot. Any conclusions suggested by the committee are approved by another election, and sent to the Attorney General's office for review.