8.26.24 Special Charter

welcome to the August 24th 2024 special Charter review committee meeting it's 5:00 p.m. we are in the hearing room at one government center in Fall River well attendees I therefore advise that such recordings or Transmissions are being made well attendees I therefore advise that such recordings or Transmissions are being made whether perceived or un received by those present and are deemed acknowledged and

permissible could you join me in the Pledge of Allegiance please I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you everybody and at this point can we take attendance starting from my right Rob Arena Brown Laura Samson Kathy movich Tracy Al Tim Campos very good absent is John Mitchell Paul

masado Mimi larvie and our de facto member Alan Rumsey correct correct correct and at this point I will open it up for public comment seeing none public comment is Clos closed moving on discussion of the charter Report Draft and the charter draft final copies are in everybody's email box they posted they were posted uh I sent them to it uh this meeting is to discuss any uh concerns or other motions anybody

has go right ahead um I'm looking at it on right here my whatever you're looking at that's that would be the freaking J um uh so can we I would like to vote on this if you would like to take another vote that's fine I another we we take I would like to vote to pass it so we can bring it to this and move this along I mean we have

been on this for a very very long time so I move to take a vote to pass this drafted Charter so we can put it in front of the city council there is the city council do we uh once this goes to the city council do we uh once this goes to the city council do we know what the steps and procedures are I've heard many versions me too many here's here's the version I would

suggest we go with this will go to the clerk's office yeah well first I'm going to get them bound I'm going to have them copied and bound like in a little like the last ones were yeah and then uh according to uh I've talked to the clerk's office Corporation counsel read the charter we've discussed it amongst ourselves at various times yep uh the mayor will get a copy and the president

of the council will get a copy I I hope the I hope the entire Council well the entire Council will but at first the mayor will get a copy and once he approves it then uh a meeting will be set up through the council president to have a special meeting of the city council according to the Charter as it stands it has to be its own meeting the only thing on the agenda can be the

charter and then from there if it's approved it goes to the Attorney General's office to their Municipal law Division and all they do is review it for conflicts with state law okay they don't make recommendations they just tell you hey section 2.6 is in conflict with mgl 4 666 and my understanding is that process can take anywhere from three months to six months okay and then if they send it

back and say it's all okay yeah I believe then it would have to go back to the council for them to vote to have it put on the um some ballot a ballot the next uh municipal election is November of 202 6 right we're in 24 25 25 years right 25 right 25 so it would be on a ballot as a special question but then but but once before that happens of course there is

um uh the big advertisements and and and I think mailings I'm not sure after it gets approved if it's approved then I think we should come we should meet again or at least meet periodically to get it get a update to the committee and the public where we're at with it um I I don't think this is the last meeting I think we have to meet as a body to say okay mayor approved it Council approved

it and uh I was as the process I as the process right uh I listen to what you said all of it makes perfect sense I just just have to ask one question so hypothetically what happens if he rejects it I think hypothetically what happens if he rejects it I think it comes back to us but he would have to probably give us some good reason why it could still pass through as a citizen

initiative we you know we could always have the public form another committee go get all those signatures that we lowered by the way have we lowered not low enough but I think that's the hypothetical enough but it's the hypothetical answer yeah uh I I would hope that once it leaves here and once it gets uh approved so to speak by the city council I hope like the last one even though the last one was a

disaster I hope it gets mailed to the to the voters 100% so people can know what they have voting on the last Charter the last you were on the last commit I was did they do a mass mailing of the document we we did yeah so I am I assume because it's a charter change right that absolutely copies would have to get out that comes out of I I would hope so but

I I don't like to assume anything I I I've watched government for too long yeah but as a committee we'd meet before that happened and if we voted to have that done then that's exactly would have to be done would it be appropriate to make that as an amended motion as we pass this now or should we wait I think we should wait to make sure there's no conflicts of law very good I'm ready to

vote i y any further discussion yeah um so if we're going to vote on the finalization of this document um you bring up a point if we're going to send it out so in this there's an acknowledgement section on the second page which is basically acknowledging all of us as committing to the you know know the the final product yeah and I don't know if everybody wants that if

2024 yeah we can and that's that's the only thing so I took some liberties with that and I just want to make sure that we talk about that let read the acknowledgement in the record and you have the most current one actually page one after the the cover sheet this current collection of pages has been meticulously reviewed and amended over a countless number of hours by the dedicated members of the special Charter

Review Committee of the city of Fall River chair Reena Brown Vice chair Dan robelot Tracy alme Tim Campos Michelle Mimi larv Paul Mado John Mitchell Katherine nich and Laura produced this updated inail employed thoughtful and sound judgment to collectively produce this updated entail employed thoughtful and sound judgment to collectively produce this updated intelligible reader

friendly document for the benefit of the city of Fall River drops Mike very good nice I love it yeah I love it good job all right so I'll update your name name thank you you're welcome all right so there's a motion it's been seconded um any further discussion all in favor roll call wait I think he's got got I had one more thing sure um so one of the sections that you

and I were discussing um the D the one that was in there twice correct um and it was in twice and they were different both of them so there were slight wordings differently between the one a through H or I or whatever it was and the other one so I went back to the original document and kind of gleaned out of that it it didn't change any of the content of it it was just some

differences you have the minutes though too correct does some really good minutes yeah so I reviewed those and and as far as everything we voted on I think we're clear the only thing that was um there was one section that we omitted and I just want to review that again to be clear um so it was section 82 all right let me it and I'll read into the record

um I don't have the old one article 8 deals with citizen participation mechanisms 81 is the free petition 82 is citizen initiative measures correct and if memory serves me the city council had an we we omitted the part about them denying it correct which was I believe subsection F yes which so I removed subsection F but I left it there as omitted because there are other references to section yes the other

section so I don't want to renumber them we voted to take it out on 58 2022 correct so I wanted to make sure that that was because there was some other discussion and some other I actually like how you wrote intentionally I think that that kind of clarifies it for the reader if there's any references to it perfect that was the only thing that I wanted to confirm just because I wasn't sure but outside

of that I think everything is good Perfecto yes and again um here's we have a motion and it's been seconded and we've discussed it before we vote on it if between now and the time it goes to the mayor and and and the city council is getting ready for a meeting on it if there is something so glaring that we have to meet again then we'll meet again I mean I don't see the

president scheduling a meeting immediately with the city council and the other thing is we have to go to the city council and present it to them and be available for questions and answers so I think that there's time between the time the mayor says okay and the president schedules it that if we need to have a meeting because there's something that a member is unsure about or questioning we'll meet again I'll

just schedule another meeting we'll come and meet again um might not be able to get this room but we'll be able to get a spot in this building to have an open meeting on whatever that is and then and the other thing I wanted is I certainly hope everybody comes to present it to the city council if you can't make it that's fine if you can if you're already there fine I will be there all righty

all right with that seeing no more discussion uh all in favor a roll call vote yeah for okay roll call vote please starting to my left yes yes yes yes yes yes and the motion passes unanimously to sub all right thank you everybody I want a roll call on that one all right thank you everybody I want a roll call on that one all right thank you everybody