The Charter Review process was started in January 2020 with a call for letters of interest from residents to serve on the CRC by Council President Mark Sideris.
Interviews were held in February and March before the Charter Review was put on hold by Council President Sideris due to the COVID-19 global pandemic outbreak. Council President Sideris conducted more interviews in October 2020 and announced the six resident members the day before the first CRC meeting which was held on October 6, 2020.
It was announced that the CRC would meet on the first and third Tuesday on the month at 6pm via Zoom video conference & that the meetings would be available to the public via Zoom & broadcast live on Watertown Cable Access. Links to the meetings can be found in the agendas posted here.
The CRC has been meeting regularly since October and will continue until a report is completed (tentatively June).
The CRC reviewed the charters of several other cities in Massachusetts, hosted Q&As with several town managers, councilors and mayors to learn about different forms of government.
In February CRC began discussing Watertown’s charter specifically and potential changes that may be recommended.
CRC meetings and discussion of changes to the charter are expected to continue through the spring with a report of recommendations that is tentatively planned to be finalized in June.
The final report is then forwarded to the Town Council for approval. Recommendations will be on the November ballot for approval by the electorate if necessary.
The draft timeline prepared by the Collins Center is located on the website.