METHUEN — From term limits to the number of at-large councilors in the city, the nine winners in the Charter Commission race plan to examine the city's operating procedures and listen to what citizens want.
"For years they have been making changes to the charter arbitrarily," said School Committee member Barbara Grondine, who was elected to the commission. "I think it (changes) should be made by the citizens, not the council."
The function of the commission is to review the city's charter, get public input, and make proposals for changes that will go before voters.
Newly re-elected City Councilor Pat Uliano — president of Citizens for Better Government, which pushed the petition for the commission — said the first order of business is to set up the commission and start going over the charter.
"Let's look at it page by page and see what needs to be cleaned up," she said.
Many of the winners last night were familiar to Methuen voters, from former mayor and top vote-getter Dennis DiZoglio to City Councilor John Cronin.
Former City Councilor Maureen Donovan also made it onto the commission and hopes to raise the issue of term limits. She served on the City Council from 1992 to 2000.
Newly re-elected School Committee member Robert Vogler also will serve on the Charter Commission. His primary mission is to listen to what people want, but he also would like to review the number of at-large council seats in Methuen versus the number of district seats.
"The key is to listen to people's input," he said. "I want to make sure there is an upfront, frank review."
Former City Councilor Joseph Pappalardo, the second highest vote-getter in the commission race, wants the commission to look at making a review of the charter itself a part of the document.
"The charter should be automatically reviewed every five to 10 years," he said.
The next step is convening a meeting and getting public input, Pappalardo said.
"We cannot change anything without approval from the voters," he said.
Former fire Chief Kenneth Bourassa said he didn't enter this race with any particular agenda, but is open to anything people have to say.
"I would like to study the charter and see if updates are needed," he said. "I don't want to fix anything that isn't broken. I don't want to jump into anything."
