Pittsfield Charter Committee to Review Charter Objection
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Charter Review Committee on Tuesday will tackle a request to review the charter objection, a motion that has delayed votes and created a stir in council chambers over the last term.
Councilor at Large Peter White will present a petition to the panel that asks "Should the charter objection be eliminated or otherwise amended?"
The City Council rules read:
"On the first occasion that the question on adoption of a measure is put to the city council, if a single member present objects to the taking of the vote, the vote shall be postponed until the next meeting of the city council, whether regular or special.
"If two members present object, such postponement shall be until the next regular meeting. If it is an emergency measure at least four members must object. This procedure shall not be used more than once for any specific matter notwithstanding an amendment to the original matter. A charter objection shall have privilege over all motions but must be raised prior to or at the call for a vote by the presiding officer and all debate shall cease."
The motion became a prominent tactic during the budget hearings last year when Ward 2 Councilor Charles Kronick called a charter objection on the $189 million fiscal 2023 budget and derailed the vote. Because of this, a budget was adopted by default but Mayor Linda Tyer agreed to apply $116,000 in recommended increases from the council after the matter.
During a press conference, Tyer said the charter objection caused "manufactured chaos" and Council President Peter Marchetti described it as "very reckless."
In February, Councilor at Large Earl Persip III put a screeching halt to an unclear conversation about Councilor at Large Karen Kalinowsky's bike lane ballot question proposal with a charter objection. The next month, councilors rescinded a former vote taken on the question that supporters argued placed it on the ballot.
Kronick's charter objections caused unrest in the chambers again in June when he used the motion to delay three time-sensitive financial orders.
Marchetti pleaded for him to reconsider the motions, as these costs would become taxpayers' burden if they were not appropriated by the end of the fiscal year that fell three days later.
To avoid this, a special meeting was held to address the items.
The appropriations were approved in the 11th hour with Kronick voting in favor.
White pointed out that, for the second year in a row, there has been a charter objection in June that has "basically screwed up the process of government" and taken away the councilors' choices to make changes to the items. If there had been changes, he said at the time, another charter objection would have delayed them beyond the fiscal year.
"The charter objection is irresponsible and if it's not taken out, it should be not allowed in the month of June," White said then.
Also on the agenda is a petition from Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren and Ward 4 Councilor James Conant to have the committee review the pros, cons, and appropriateness of term limits for elected officials.
"A periodic and robust review of all the various options ensures that Pittsfield is always operating under the most advantageous form of municipal government as well as encouraging confidence in city operations and decision-making," the petition reads.
Earlier this month, Kronick unsuccessfully petitioned to place a non-binding question to limit the mayor and city councilors to two terms.
In June, the council nixed his proposal for charter modifications that impose a minimum 30-year age requirement on School Committee candidates and a one-year "cooling off" period for elected officials.
Given the robust counterarguments, Kronick said he would resubmit the proposals with improvements.
Tags: charter objection,
