Town Manager Charter Amendment of 1997

Town Manager Charter Amendment of 1997
TypeGovernment
DateApril 5, 1997


By a charter amendment approved at the town election of April 5, 1997, Billerica renamed its town administrator, the office created by the Home Rule Charter of 1979, the Town Manager. The charter has been amended many times since.

The title of town manager came by amendment. A Charter Review Committee appointed by the moderator brought twelve amendments to the annual fall town meeting of October 1, 1996, which passed them as Article 36 for the ballot. Among them were residency and attendance rules for town meeting members and a change to "Amend Article 3, Section 3.2(B) by changing the words 'Town Administrator' to 'Town Manager' with all subsequent references to Town Administrator to read as Town Manager," and the addition of the words "with just cause" after "vote to reject" in Section 3.3(B). The voters approved the amendments at the election of April 5, 1997, 2,376 to 878, with 940 blanks, and that year Mercier was listed as Town Manager. His successors under the title have included Richard A. Montuori from 1998 and John C. Curran from 2009 to 2024. A later Charter Review Committee brought revisions of the charter to town meeting in 2008 (Article 29), and another set of amendments, approved at the fall town meeting of 2016, went to the voters in 2017; among other things it let the deputy moderator succeed to a vacancy in the office of moderator. Amendments to the referendum section of the charter were before town meeting in 2024 and 2025.


People


References

  1. Billerica town report 1996, annual fall town meeting of Oct. 1, 1996, Article 36: twelve charter amendments for the April 1997 ballot, including Town Manager. Passed.
  2. Billerica town report 1997, annual town election of April 5, 1997: Question #1, charter changes, Yes 2,376, No 878, Blanks 940.
  3. Billerica town report 1997, Board of Selectmen's list: Robert A. Mercier, Town Manager; Evelyn M. Haines, Assistant Town Manager.
  4. Billerica town report 2017, election warrant: Question #1 on the charter amendment approved at the 2016 fall annual town meeting.