Thursday, March 22, 2007 Older Editions

Moderator race could lead to opening of town charter

By Brian Messenger

As the town budget becomes more complex, one candidate for moderator is worried the current Town Meeting form of government is in jeopardy.

Given the gap between the town manager and school superintendent's budgets, David Samuels believes Andover should change its planning process before Town Meeting from a dual- to a single-budget planning model.

Samuels believes the town moderator is the right person to spark that change, and if elected he said he would alter the town charter if necessary to achieve it over the next several years.

"That's the reason that I stood up to the plate this year, because we are at a crossroads," said Samuels, who is in the second year of a three-year School Committee term. "The moderator is the perfect person to move the process forward.

"It may very well include changing some charter bylaws and people shouldn't be afraid of that," he said.

None of Samuels' fellow candidates for moderator support the idea. They support the historically more limited role for the moderator, who runs Town Meeting and appoints Finance Committee members.

"The moderator shouldn't be in the position of advocating any particular budget," said candidate Larry Morse. "He's there as referee."

"I just wonder whether or not that's possible," said candidate Kenneth Ozoonian. "For a moderator to interfere in the budget process, I think is totally wrong."

"The charter is very clear of the moderator's role," added moderator candidate Sheila Doherty.

Samuels pointed to last year's Annual Town Meeting as an example of the problems that can arise under the current system. Two different budgets were presented, one supported by town officials, another by the School Committee. After amendments were introduced, voters became confused.

"Nobody knew what they were voting for," said Samuels. "Town Meeting can't function if nobody understands what they're voting on. It's not fair."

Samuels wants to appoint members to the Finance Committee who will work closer with the School Committee and selectmen to come to a budget consensus much earlier in the process. Other candidates don't believe this will create budget harmony.

Eric Nadworny, the final candidate for moderator and a former School Committee member, calls the idea "naive at best and misleading at worst."

But Samuels thinks a unified approach between the town and schools will yield better results than working to close the gap between the two budget proposals.

"What I want to do is work collaboratively with the School Committee and selectmen ... to come up with a single, unified budget that has widespread support," he said. "We need to come to a consensus and that has to be done through a single governing body that has the pulse of the town in mind."

For the process to work, Samuels believes several years and a revision to the town charter will be needed. Opponents note the moderator is elected to one-year terms.

"A change like this would take three to five years to do it correctly. It would be done gradually and fairly and in close talks with all interested parties," said Samuels. "It's a one-year term, but a big change like this is going to take time."

While Ozoonian agreed the budgeting issues facing Andover are daunting, he does not believe the individual slated to run Annual Town Meeting and appoint Finance Committee members is the one who should address them.

"We're facing increasingly challenging times ahead. To answer that question from the moderator's perspective might be a little unfair," he said.

Morse agreed. "If the School Committee and selectmen want to get together and do that, it's their prerogative," he said of unifying the budgeting process. "I don't think it's something that the moderator should take a position on, since it's a budget that the Town Meeting is going to take a vote on."

Samuels pointed to changing times as the reason why a new approach is needed. As a School Committee member, Samuels said he has the experience to know the system is flawed.

"I'm in the middle of the budget cycle, so I've seen up close with this divergent two-budget model that we have," he said. "And it worked well for many years, but it's just antiquated because of the size of our town."

"I would take issue with that. I think it works," said Doherty. "We didn't always have the money for (the budget) and we had to make choices, just as we do now."

Town Manager Buzz Stapczynski said Town Meeting approval is first required to alter the town charter, and then approval by the state legislature and governor.

"It's a huge process and it's not meant to be easy," said Stapczynski. "You have to be very specific (with the proposed change)."

"If you're a creature of habit," said Samuels, "then you would find it difficult to think outside the box. It's not radical to think that all businesses, including government, need to evolve with the times."

"It just makes sense and people shouldn't be afraid to modify how we come up with our budget," Samuels said. "It will take a few years, but when we come out of the other end, we will be so much better of for it."

"I just don't think you'd have the best budget if you melt it down so much," said Doherty.