MARBLEHEAD –– It seems the Board of Health will remain as a three-member board for another full year since the town did not submit its Home Rule Petition with ample time.
According to state representative Jenny Armini, Home Rule Petitions are occasionally required when a decision is made at the local level and needs approval from the legislature. In this instance, there was a decision made at the Town Meeting last year for the Board of Health to expand its three-member board to a five-member board.
“It passed, and then that has to come to me in the form of a certificate from the Select Board, certifying that the vote took place, and this is what the town agreed to,” Armini said.
She added that this certification must be signed by all Select Board members and then mailed to the State House. It cannot be sent electronically. After it is sent to the State House, Armini would be able to file the bill. But without that paper in her hands, Armini is unable to move forward.
She said the Select Board very recently signed the certification and mailed it to the State House. It finally arrived in Armini’s hands on Feb. 20.
She compared Home Rule Petitions to most colleges’ rolling admissions for students. They can be filed at any time, but that doesn’t mean the legislators will be able to push the bill through before Marblehead’s June election – let alone in time for candidates to throw their hat in the ring for the Board of Health’s soon-to-be open seats.
The delay from the State House is due to the fact that this Home Rule Petition will need to be assigned to a committee and then have a hearing, but committees haven’t even been formed yet for this upcoming legislative session. It will take time for the committees to be formed, for the clerk to go through thousands of bills and assign those to committees and for the committees to hold hearings for the bills.
It is not likely that the two additional Board of Health members will be elected in June.
“I always push for Home Rule Petitions, but the calendar is the calendar,” Armini said. “I want to manage expectations.”
She added that the town has done all they can do at the moment, as they have sent over the certification, which has not yet been received.
Neither the Town Administrator, Thatcher Kezer, nor any Select Board members have commented on why there was a delay in sending the Home Rule Petition.
