Proposed Saugus charter faces first test

SAUGUS – The Charter Commission will test drive its proposed changes this weekend when it takes its new document out for a spin before a cluster of focus groups.Commission Chairman Peter Manoogian said he has 55 residents signed on to spend their Saturday reviewing the 40-plus page charter proposal. He said he believes the volunteers represent a good cross cut on the community.Manoogian said there are town employees, elected officials, a smattering of Town Meeting members and over 20 residents who are not affiliated with any part of town government.Former Town Meeting member Richard Mytkowicz is on the guest list and said he is curious to see what the commission has come up with.”I think it should be looked at,” he said.However, he said his fear is that while the document might contain a lot of good ideas, they might be lost among things residents don’t want to see.By law, voting on the charter is an all or nothing deal. Manoogian said it cannot be broken into separate parts or taken up in bits and pieces.He, however, is convinced that what the commission has put together is better than what the town operates under now.The most prominent change is the exchange of Town Meeting for a Town Assembly form of government that would include a mixture of elected officials that would serve at large as well as from specific precincts. Candidates for Town Moderator and Chairman of the Board of Selectmen would also have to run town wide for those specific seats. The Board of Selectmen would lose its Licensing Board title but become the main policy makers in town.The entire proposed charter is also available online for anyone to peruse. Manoogian said residents can go to the town Web site at www.saugus-ma.gov/ and click on the link for the commission’s draft proposal.The focus groups will be split into six factions. Each group will be given a specific section to look at, which they have been given ahead of time to study. As part of their homework, so to speak, the participants were asked to list five observations made about their specific section, and list their three most important questions.On Saturday residents will be asked to compare their lists with the others in the group and develop a master list of questions and observations then report those to the commissioners and other participants.”I’m optimistic,” Manoogian said. “I just hope everyone keeps an open mind . . . I think it’s a real opportunity to better the town.”While the focus group is not a public hearing, Manoogian said it is an open meeting and residents should come down if they wish.”I would be more than happy to have people come,” Manoogian said. “It might be difficult to actually participate with the focus groups but they could sit and observe and listen to the process.”The next step for the commission is to ponder the observations and queries, give the proposal at least one last tweak and then ready for its publication in February followed by public hearings in March.