HOW WE ARE GOVERNED NOW

Amherst For All is so obsessed with Town Meeting that they neglect to mention that the new charter proposal does away with our entire governance.  What we have now is a model of good government.  Maybe I should stress the word “model.”  Just as the charter commission is offering a model of a new government - a model without the substance of real people, real decisions and real controversies - so too the model of our current government should be seen the same way for the sake of comparison.  It is harder with our current government because there are real people, real decisions and real controversies - and people feel strongly pro and con about them.  But let’s get them out of the way for a moment so we can see our government structure clearly and compare it to the model on offer.

The Executive Branch - The executive branch of Amherst’s government consists of its boards and committees and the supervisors who oversee the workings of town, school and library administration.  For my purposes here I will focus on the Select Board and Town Manager, but the School Committee and Superintendent and the Library Trustees and the Library Director are equally part of the executive branch and most of my comments here refer to them as well.

The Select Board has the traditional powers of an executive branch.  It sets policies and priorities for the Town.  It does this in close consultation with Town Hall working under the independent supervision of a strong Town Manager.  The Town Manager appoints and oversees, among many important others, the Finance Director and the Planning Director.  The Town’s financial priorities are presented annually to Town Meeting in the Finance Committee booklet in clear prose supported be graphs and charts.  The Town’s priorities for land use and development are contained in the Master Plan approved by the Planning Board (appointed by the Town Manager).  Importantly, the Zoning Board of Appeals is appointed by the Select Board.  The Town Manager’s appointments are not subject to Select Board review, but of course all matters of policy and priority are.  The most important policy statement is the annual Town budget, which sets and funds the Town’s priorities for the following fiscal year.

The Select Board also controls the Town Warrant, which it submits to Town Meeting for legislative action.  The articles on the Town Warrant really comprise the executive branch’s policy leadership. (The Warrant importantly also contains articles based on citizen petitions, but they are not our concern in this commentary.)

The tremendous powers of the Executive Branch are checked by internal structures which preserve the autonomy of each part while requiring their working together.  The Town Manager has many powers of appointment, including the important Planning Board, which are not subject to review by the Select Board, but his/her own tenure is subject to evaluation and rehiring by the Select Board.  When articles finally appear on the Town Warrant they are the result of ongoing collaboration between the appointed Town Hall and the elected Select Board.

The Legislative Branch - The legislative branch of Amherst’s government consists of Representative Town Meeting, its committees, and the Town Moderator.  It must act on each article on the Town Warrant.  Most actions require a simple majority, but by state law borrowing money and changing the zoning bylaw require a 2/3 majority.  The Town Moderator controls the debate on the floor, decides procedural matters in dispute, and assures decorum in debate.  

The committees of Town Meeting consist of the Town Meeting Coordinating Committee (TMCC), elected by Town Meeting members, which provides reviews of the Warrant before spring and fall town meeting, assistance to new Town Meeting members, and opportunities for voters to meet candidates for Town Meeting membership.  The Subcommittee on Policies and Procedures, appointed by TMCC,  provides a standing mechanism for improving Town Meeting administratively and by modification of the Town Bylaws.  The Finance Committee, appointed by the Town Moderator, works with the Finance Department to evaluate Warrant articles in terms of their financial impact on the Town.  The new Town Meeting Advisory Committee, whose membership is both elected and appointed by Town Meeting, the Town Moderator, and self-nomination, advises Town Meeting on the non-financial benefits and impacts of Warrant Articles.  Like the committees of the executive branch, legislative committees have different appointing authorities.

Actions -  A shorthand motto describing the relationship of the executive and legislative branches is that the executive proposes and the legislature disposes.  This is true in Amherst, in Massachusetts, in the United States.  It is an illustration of both the separation of powers and the balance of powers.  There is, of course, often tension between the executive and legislative branches but in most cases they realize and respect both their independence and their interdependence.

“Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest,” cried Henry II when Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, resisted royal control over the church.  And four knights promptly murdered the archbishop.  It is no longer 1170, but the king’s imputed plea has echoed through the centuries as frustrated executives have complained of and sometimes acted to silence or at least control their adversaries and legislatures.  

But good government requires both independence and interdependence.  The term “checks and balances” is sometimes used glibly, but it is the foundation of republican governance.  The joint ideas of separation of powers and balance of powers more accurately describes the delicate situation that preserves both stability and democracy.  Tensions are proof that it is working.

In my next commentary I shall examine the proposed charter and compare it to what we have.