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Proposed Charter Amendments to be voted at Special Town Meeting on Monday, January 30, 2017

By contributor,
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The Hopkinton Board of Selectmen have voted to hold a Special Town Meeting
beginning on Monday, January 30, 2017 from 7:00 – 11:00 p.m. at the Hopkinton Middle School. The first article on the warrant for consideration will be Periodic Charter Review: Report and Recommendations, sponsored by Hopkinton’s Charter Review Committee.

At the May 15, 2006 Annual Town Election, Hopkinton voters approved the adoption of Hopkinton’s Home Rule Charter. This charter established the position of Town Manager, who was given the responsibility to oversee daily town business, manage administrative affairs, coordinate activities of town agencies and appoint specific officers of the town of Hopkinton. The original Charter Commission believed that a transfer of more day-to-day duties from part-time volunteers to full-time employees would enhance effectiveness and significantly improve the town’s governmental structure and its ability to deal with contemporary problems, both on a day-to-day and long-range basis.

Proposed changes to Hopkinton’s Home Rule Charter are a result of the required 10-year periodic review of the charter which establishes a special committee for the purpose of reviewing the charter and to make a report, with recommendations, to the Town Meeting.

After deliberation, debate and a vote at the January 30 Special Town Meeting, the approved charter will be reviewed by the Attorney General, and voted on at the ballot in May, 2017. The proposed charter must be approved by a two-thirds supermajority of voters present at Town Meeting and a simple majority at the ballot in order to take effect.

To preview the proposed draft charter to be voted on at Special Town Meeting, visit the town’s website at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxFfd0aRbNooUlExczljVWxCS0U/view.

To read the accompanying report from the Charter Review Committee, visit the town’s website at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxFfd0aRbNooZ2N6QWczOWdRT0dSaFpneHAtcmx....