SHREWSBURY, Mass. — The population in some Massachusetts towns has blown up in recent years.
It’s causing some residents in those communities to say it’s time change how their local governments operate.
Shrewsbury is a quaint New England town in Worcester County, but it’s no longer all that small.
“Shrewsbury has had a town manager, a select board, and a representative town meeting form of government since 1953. That form of government was adopted back when the town’s population was about 11,000,’ explained select board member Carlos Garcia. “The population is about 40,000 people, so it’s grown significantly, and the challenges have gotten more complex.”
In August, Shrewsbury officials created a “Form of Government Study Committee” to examine whether the status quo still works, or whether they should move away from things like an annual town meeting.
One possible outcome is to become a city.
“Nothing is off the table,” said Garcia, who represents the select board on the new committee.
“I think a lot of people in our community are really proud of that history,” said Garcia. “But sometimes, especially with the way meetings run, where we may have one meeting on Tuesday and then there’s another important meeting on Thursday, sometimes it’s just really hard to figure out, what’s the thing that I need to pay attention to?”
In Andover, a group of citizens has collected enough signatures to get a question on the ballot to examine their municipal charter.
“I do think we need to make decisions sometimes quicker than we’re able to,” said Brad Wright, one of the organizers of the group called “New Andover Charter.”
Andover’s town meeting is open, meaning every resident is invited to attend.
On paper, that should make the process very democratic, but Wright doesn’t think that’s what happens in reality.
“I think people happy with the status quo are people who have been in town for a long time and sort of envision this town as being the small town it once was,” said Wright. “I think it’s very difficult for young families with children to come out, not only one night, but multiple nights of town meeting.”
Brookline is yet another town where there has been a call for reform.
A group of citizens who have organized as “City Charter Campaign Brookline” wants the town to become a city.
“It does add a degree of efficiency, but I would caution there’s no perfectly efficient system of government,” said Peter Ubertaccio, a dean and political expert at Stonehill College.
“You are essentially saying we’re going to entrust that people we elect will properly represent us, as opposed to citizens representing themselves directly in a high school auditorium.”
Framingham transitioned from being a town to a city on January 1, 2018.
At the time, it was the biggest town in the state with a population of just over 70,000 people.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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