Cambridge City Council Grants Charter Review Committee Extension Until January

The Cambridge City Council unanimously voted to grant the Cambridge Charter Review Committee an extension to continue working on their report until Jan. 31, 2024, at a meeting Monday evening.

The committee requested a one month extension to its end-of-year deadline — which was itself an extension to the original August 2023 deadline — to hold an additional meeting in January for finalizing the committee’s recommendations.

In the extension request, committee chair Kathleen L. Born wrote there was an “overwhelming increase in public awareness and engagement” surrounding the report, which she called “a positive development.”

“The committee received roughly 70 written public comments before our December 5th meeting. 20 members of the public spoke during public comment and over 50 members of the public tuned into the committee meeting,” Born wrote.

Due to the maximum 2.5 hours set for the committee’s meeting time, the members’ time to discuss and deliberate was limited in order to hear from residents.

Since August 2022, 15 residents have met biweekly to review the city’s charter. The committee was initially set to provide recommendations to the Council regarding the city’s charter in August 2023, including topics such as the city manager position.

After the committee sends their final report, the newly elected Council will vote on the recommendations before sending them to the state legislature for approval. The state will then return any approved changes for Cambridge residents to vote on.

On Nov. 30, city staff produced a draft version of a final report for the charter. The committee’s recommendations aim to promote values including “equity and enfranchisement” and “participation in and accessibility of government.”

At their most recent meeting on Dec. 5, the committee voted 8-7 in favor of a strong mayor and chief administrative and finance officer system — below the two-thirds threshold needed for the recommendation to be written into the report. The proposal would eliminate the existing position of the city manager, who oversees the city’s day-to-day operations and various departments, and bolster the mayor’s authority.

Cambridge currently uses the “Plan E” system, under which a democratically elected Council elects a mayor amongst themselves and appoints a city manager.

The motions related to the strong mayor and chief administrative and finance officer system include a four-year term for the mayor, a three-term limit, and the addition of a recall provision for the mayor.

If the city manager system is maintained, the committee recommended changing the language of Council budget priorities and goal setting in addition to the annual review of the city manager. Ten members voted in favor, while five members were marked absent.

Thirteen committee members voted to maintain Cambridge’s proportional representation system as well as move the city’s elections to even-numbered years. Two members were marked absent during these votes. The committee also voted in favor of motions to modernize election voting and tabulation methods.

The committee also voted to endorse the formation of a resident assembly, which would solicit more input from Cantabrigians in city governance practices.

The Charter Review Committee will hold their last regular meeting of 2023 on Dec. 19.

—Staff writer Jina H. Choe can be reached at jina.choe@thecrimson.com.