Eight residents want seat on Charter Reform Committee

By Gordon Fraser
Staff writer

May 10, 2008 12:10 am

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SALEM, N.H. — Eight residents have applied to join a special committee that will study the town's governing document this summer, according to Town Manager Jonathan Sistare.

The deadline for committee volunteers was Thursday, Sistare said, and eight applicants are vying for three positions on the seven-member committee.

The other four committee members will be pulled from town panels, like the Board of Selectmen and Budget Committee. Selectman Michael Lyons is slated to sit on the committee.

Selectmen will interview the applicants Monday and decide between them.

Calls for a Charter Reform Committee began in April, after the selectmen learned about problems with the Budget Committee's legal mandate.

Sistare, who is an attorney, discovered state law technically might not allow a town like Salem to have a budget panel. Legal opinions disagree, but state legislators are working to clear up any confusion.

In the meantime, calls for a Charter Reform Committee remain. Selectmen hope the committee will advise them on whether the town's 10-year-old governing document needs an overhaul.

Even before its formation, the charter panel has come under fire. Some residents, like Paul Metcalf, argue the town should only review the charter with an explicit mandate from voters at Town Meeting.

Selectmen said they will approach voters if the Charter Reform Committee recommends major changes.