In a presentation of Draft 22 of a proposed new Charter for the Town of Wareham, the Charter Review Committee (CRC) has added a Citizens Free Petition amendment that would allow nonvoting but taxpaying citizens to petition the proposed Town Council.

The amendment was presented at the CRC's presentation on Saturday, a sparsely attended event where members of the committee presented a slideshow that compared the nuts-and-bolts of their proposed mayoral form of government with Wareham's existing government headed by a five-member Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator.

According to CRC Chair Alan Slavin, the free petition is an increasingly popular method for Massachusetts towns to enact so that their seasonal populations have a voice in the government.   No signatures would be needed, as on a regular petition, but an individual could present a request to the Town Councilor representing their district or any of the six proposed at-large Town Council seats.

The amendment was among several changes made in response to public input from previous CRC meetings and presentations.

Responding to a request to compare the costs anticipated with each form of government, the committee compared the budgeted costs of the support staff positions for the current Board of Selectmen and the Town Administrator and staff and the anticipated salaries for a mayor and town councilors, which the CRC set at $95,000 and $4000 for each of ten town councilors and $6,500 for the president of the council.  They concluded that the two governments would essentially cost the same.

The mayor will remain as the chair, but another member was added to the school committee.  This proposal was criticized at the Feb. 20 public presentation, but members of the CRC said that they decided to encourage transparency between the mayor and school committee.

Other notable comparisons between the existing and proposed form of government included the legislative body's frequency of meeting - the town council would meet a minimum of 24 times per year while Town Meeting is held semiannually - and the anticipated voter participation, which the committee anticipates would increase from the 2 percent of the registered voters who typically attend town meeting to the approximately 20 percent who vote for local elections.

The slideshow will be presented at least twice more, and Slavin said that a call-in show on the proposal is in the works for WCTV.  The next presentation will be on Thursday, March 25, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Town Hall cafeteria.

A copy of the current draft of the Charter, as well as other material relating to the charter review process is available at the Charter Review Committee website.