SALEM — After months of discussion and debate, the Charter Commission held what will likely be its last meeting — unable to reach a consensus on what direction town government should take.
"I'm feeling frustrated because it is a long process," Fire Chief Kevin Breen, a commission member, said in an interview before the meeting last week. "I think I quickly learned early on that the Charter Commission itself is comprised of different people with various backgrounds that felt strongly about their issues."
And that seemed to be the problem.
The commission met twice in December but couldn't reach a consensus on any action after legal issues prompted the state to reject the commission's draft charter.
Some wanted to tweak the old charter. Others could not agree on the number of councilors to be elected if a town council was formed. With eight people attending the group's Dec. 21 meeting, some votes deadlocked at 4-4.
But in the end, it was a 5-3 vote that led to the commission deciding to give up on creating a new charter.
Comission member and Deputy Police Chief Bill Ganley was absent from the meeting when the group voted to issue a final report, saying they could not come to a conclusion.
"I had another engagement and I couldn't make the meeting and I wish I was there obviously," Ganley said.
Police records obtained through the state's Right-to-Know Law show Ganley was working a detail at the Rockingham Park racetrack from 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. The meeting began at 7 p.m.
"Like many of the busy professionals with young families and other obligations who volunteer their time on town boards, there will be occasions when I may miss a meeting to help make ends meet for my family," Ganley said in a statement. "That is not a reflection of my dedication or commitment to my volunteer service. Rather, it reflects the reality for many board volunteers of balancing busy family and professional obligations with volunteer board service."
Stephen Campbell, another commission member, said attendance was not always perfect at the panel's meetings, especially in the summer.
"Obviously, when you start voting on things and its 4-4 and you're missing a person, that's a little bit more significant," he said.
But Ganley said he likely would have opposed the motion that ended in a 4-4 tie on whether to make minor changes to the current charter, meaning the outcome would not have changed. The motion failed for lack of a majority and would have been defeated anyway had he voted against it.
"I support going to a town council," he said. "I didn't support minor changes."
The inability to come to a conclusion means the charter goes back to selectmen, who can propose some changes. Three selectmen, Arthur Barnes, Pat Hargreaves and Michael Lyons, are on the Charter Commission.
"Three of our five-member board (of selectmen) are on this committee, and they voted to end this process, which in essence returns it," Breen said.
Breen said he knew from the beginning that any draft charter would not be quite what he wanted, but was willing to compromise. Not everyone on the board always was willing to compromise, he said.
"It's easy to be contrary and destructive. It's harder to be constructive," he said. "It's a lot harder to build something, and it's a lot easier to take things apart."
Commission member Cathy Stacey said she hoped selectmen would make changes to streamline the governmental process in Salem.
"The voters did want us to offer up some kind of option and unfortunately, they're not going to get a chance to vote on something," she said.
Selectman Michael Lyons said he thought selectmen would take up the issue.
"I certainly think that there's no doubt that we will look at some issues," he said. "Whether we do it this year or not is uncertain."
Lyons said he thought the charter was due for the review it got, but said the slim vote to establish the commission showed there was not much of a mandate for major change.
"I don't think anything ever is a waste, in terms of when people get together and exchange ideas and that sort of thing," Lyons said.
Campbell said his frustration with the charter process dated back to its beginning.
"If everyone who had run for the office would have said right upfront, 'I'm for this, I'm for that,' the people could have voted in a committee that wasn't so divided," he said.
If a draft charter were created, residents would have voted on it by ballot in March.
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