Wrentham Examines Charter Options

The Wrentham Board of Selectmen is looking into the possibility of establishing a charter for the town.

Town Administrator William Ketcham talked about his research into the matter at Tuesday's board meeting.

"There are major decisions to be made as to the structure of town government — who would be elected or appointed, who makes the appointments, and what duties and title the chief administrative officer should have," he said.

Ketcham said the town had two options to create a charter: establish a charter commission or seek special legislation from the state government.

"Both would go through town meeting and require the approval of the voters at election," he said. "The shorter, faster process is likely special legislation — if the town already knows which way it wants to go, special legislation may be the way to go."

Board Chairman Joseph Botaish said he would prefer the charter commission route.

"I like that idea because I think it's a large education process," he said. "If we do this with transparency, and do it with a lot of input, I think, at the end of the day, it will be more accepted."

Selectman Robert Leclair said he needed more information before moving forward.

"It's premature to set up a charter commission," he said. "I think we need to establish a startup committee to make a recommendation to the board."

Board member Michael Carroll said the matter should be raised again after further research. He suggested putting the subject on the agenda for the board's first or second meeting in February.