SAUGUS — The town clerk’s office and the Board of Registrars on Monday certified 3,305 signatures collected by Board of Selectmen Chairman Anthony Cogliano as part of his charter petition drive — ensuring charter change will be on the ballot this fall.
With the signatures certified, residents will now have the opportunity to vote on whether or not to create a charter commission, which would be made up of nine members at large. The commission would get 18-24 months to produce a report suggesting changes to the town’s charter, which would then go before voters for final approval. The commission would host numerous public meetings during the process.
Across the months-long petition drive, Cogliano and several volunteers collected more than 4,200 signatures, which were submitted to the clerk’s office on July 28. In a statement Monday, Cogliano thanked all those who aided him in his quest, singling out Donald Cicolini, who he said worked 10-hour days, seven days a week gathering signatures.
“Gathering over 4,000 signatures is not an easy task in Saugus, but we did it, and I thank you all for supporting this initiative,” Cogliano said. “A special thank you to our Town Clerk Ellen Schena and her staff for putting up with me the past few weeks. I know how much work and stress I dumped on you and appreciate your efforts.”
“Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he added.
Cogliano said the next steps for his effort will be educating Saugonians about what exactly he is seeking to do, and finding nine residents willing to run for the commission. While the commission itself would have the final say on any proposed changes, Cogliano’s petition drive has primarily centered on the idea of an elected town manager, which he has said would bring additional accountability to Town Hall’s corner office.
But, actually electing a town manager may well be impossible, as Michael Ward, the director of the Edward Collins Center for Public Management, indicated the attorney general’s office would likely veto such a proposal.
While Monday marks a major achievement for Cogliano, if history is any indication, he will have a difficult time achieving real change in Saugus.
Two previous efforts at charter change ultimately failed, with residents twice voting to elect a charter commission but ultimately vetoing each commission’s proposals. Some of the proposals put forward by a commission headed by Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian in 2009 were ultimately adopted, but the broader efforts at governmental overhaul were turned down.
The Board of Registrars is set to convene Wednesday evening to discuss the certified charter revision and adoption petitions, and issue a report.
