The Barrington Charter Review Commission is recommending a series of changes to the town charter, including one that would eliminate the annual Financial Town Meeting and another that would make School Committee elections nonpartisan. 

The Commission released its full report earlier this week, following months of work. The Commission held seven public meetings and conducted a town-wide survey. 

The review process yielded nearly a dozen recommendations. At the top of the list is the elimination of the annual Financial Town Meeting. 

The Commission is recommending a new budget approval process — it would include a public hearing forum where the proposed budget is reviewed and residents can ask questions and offer comments. The new process would also include an all-day referendum vote (similar to the process for other elections), where registered voters would have an opportunity to cast their ballots on the budget. In addition, there would be a citizen-petition process to introduce formal changes to the proposed budget.

Barrington Charter Review Commission Chair Joy Hearn offered some of the reasoning behind the proposed elimination of the FTM.

“We heard overwhelmingly from residents that the format of the Financial Town Meeting is a barrier to participation, often lasting for hours and well into the night, making it difficult for residents with children, work schedules, and the elderly to participate,” Hearn said in a recent press release. 

The proposed changes — there is another one calling for the School Committee elections to be made nonpartisan — will be shared with the Barrington Town Council at its March 4 meeting at the Town Hall. 

Council members will have until Aug. 1 to determine which changes will go before Barrington taxpayers for a final vote. Any proposed changes that make the cut with the Council will be included on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election.

“While the Commission received public comment directly and indirectly related to the Charter and Financial Town Meeting, a guiding principle of the Commission throughout its work was to limit its primary recommendations to only substantive changes of the highest priority as not to overburden voters at the November 2024 election,” stated a press release from the Commission.

Other proposed changes

In addition to the proposed elimination of the FTM, the Charter Review Commission also called for changes to some of the “antiquated language” included in the charter and recommended establishing some new processes.

Here is a summary of the recommendations:

• Currently, residents wait until the end of the Financial Town Meeting to cast ballots for the COA membership, but the Charter Review Commission is proposing that COA elections take place during the annual budget referendum, should that change be approved also. The Commission also wants the COA election to be nonpartisan — no party affiliation will be required to be a candidate for office, and a candidate’s party affiliation will not be displayed on the ballot. 

• The Commission wants to include the language “Clerk of Board of Canvassers” and “Clerk to the Spencer Trust Trustees” to be added to the Town Clerk and Deputy Clerk’s roles, as it would reflect their current duties. The Commission is also calling for the removal of “Town Clerk; bonds” as it described a condition that no longer exists.

• The Commission is recommending that a new section be added to the charter acknowledging and defining the authority of the Barrington Parks and Recreation Commission. More specifically, it will outline the duties and responsibilities of Parks and Rec. Commission in relation to Department of Public Works and the town’s Recreation Department. Currently, there is no mention of the Parks and Recreation Commission in the charter. 

• There is a recommendation to include language that would make elections for the Barrington School Committee nonpartisan. The current charter does not specify anything in regards to party affiliation for candidates. 

• The Commission is calling for a review of the language in the charter that implies the town might discontinue having a permanent fire department. 

• There are two changes proposed to petitions — the first calls for a shift in the required number of signatures (from at least 20 percent of the total number of voters to 300), and the second changes the 30-day requirement for filing a petition to 60 days. 

• The Commission is also recommending a change to the review of the charter from a Council responsibility to a citizen Commission appointed by the Council. 

• The Commission is recommending that the Town Council consider an ordinance or other administrative guidance that would require annual reviews for town department heads and employees. Currently, the charter only includes language requiring the Council conduct an annual performance review of the Town Manager. 

Hearn praised the cooperative effort completed during the charter review process. 

“I want to thank members of the community for their valuable input and members of the committee for their time and professionalism,” Hearn said.  

“We hope the Town Council finds the wealth of data and input helpful in determining what is presented to the voters.”