By George P. Hassett

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone wants to examine possible changes to how city government is structured but he does not want to limit his own power.

‚ÄúI believe in a strong mayor form of government,‚Äù Curtatone said in February. ‚ÄúI think it makes the mayor more accountable to the voters. I don’t believe in the Cambridge model of a city manager and a weak mayor. I’m accountable to the voters every two years, if they don’t like what I am doing they can vote me out of office.‚Äù

Last week Curtatone announced he will convene a Charter Advisory Committee to examine the city’s municipal charter and recommend changes. The city’s charter has not been examined since 1996.

‚ÄúThe time has come to take a good, hard look at our existing charter and develop a new charter that reflects today’s reality,‚Äù he said in a statement last week. ‚ÄúMembers will study the structure of the city’s administrative process, our elective and regulatory bodies and the procedures that govern the way we operate as a municipality.‚Äù

The committee will consist of 10 members — a chair, the president of the Board of Aldermen or his appointee, the president of the School Committee or his appointee, a representative from academia, a representative from the business community, three residents appointed by Curtatone and two residents appointed by the Board of Aldermen.  The city has brought on the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to staff the committee and provide background research.

The committee will be chaired by Howard E. Horton, the president of the New England College of Finance.  Horton has served the City of Somerville in a number of capacities, most recently on Curtatone’s transition team and the Police Advisory Group. 

Horton said he was pleased to accept this appointment from Mayor Curtatone and felt it was time for the city to look towards modernization of its departments and some of its governance. 

‚ÄúI see the work of the committee as aligning governance and departments with 21st century methods of operations.  Some of the existing charter provisions are arcane and reflect by-gone times and functions.  In chairing the committee, it will be my intent to receive substantial public input into reformist proposals, to research best practices in municipalities around the country, to promote structures in government that maximize citizen participation, and to be innovative in the construction of more comprehensive departments and commissions in city government,‚Äù he said.

Curtatone appointed David Luberoff to the committee as the representative from academia. Luberoff serves as the Executive Director of the Rappaport Center for Greater Boston at Harvard University.  He has written about and lectured extensively on urban politics and improving local government through best practices and increased efficiency.

The new charter will require the approval of the Board of Aldermen, the legislature and residents, who will ultimately have the opportunity to vote on the proposed charter.

Curtatone said public input was essential to the process. ‚ÄúI urge any Somerville resident interested in participating in this process to submit a letter of interest in the coming weeks.  Our vibrant and active community is our most significant resource and it is essential that we tap into that resource throughout this process.‚Äù 

City officials said Somerville residents interested in serving on the committee should submit a letter of interest by Friday, May 9 to: City of Somerville Charter Advisory Committee C/O Mayor’s Office, 93 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02143 or email to charteradvisorycommittee@somervillema.gov.

The first move by an elected official to explore such changes this year failed last month when Ward 4 School Committee member James Norton, who is also the editor of this newspaper, proposed to send ‚Äúa statement of support of the mayor’s proposal to convene a Charter Reform Commission and ask that the mayor appoint a member of the School Committee to that commission.‚Äù That resolution was voted down by all other members of the School Committee.

The fairly tame resolution provoked strong reactions from the other School Committee members. Ward 7 member Mary Jo Rossetti said, “My blood pressure is ready to burst. I absolutely, positively will not support this motion.”

Ward 2 member Theresa Cardoso said, “Where is the outcry from the community? There is outcry Рjust on the other side in opposition to this.”

Norton had run for office two months earlier on a platform of converting the School Committee from an elected body to an appointed one. However, his resolution did not call for any specific changes to the committee.