By Meg Gage on behalf of the Amherst Charter Review Committee

The Amherst Charter Review Committee is nearing the end of its process and is eager for the public to weigh in once more before the process ends on January 5, 2026.  Residents are invited to review the Preliminary Report, published on  Monday, December 8.  That report can be found on the Town website on the Charter Review Committee’s page, here.

We have tried to capture and assess all we have heard from residents over the past months. Input has been varied and sometimes contradictory.  For some, efficiency is paramount, while others would like more substantial participation and transparency. While the Council’s ‘charge’ to the Committee mandates focusing on changes to the Charter, we have considered input on other topics, some larger than the scope of the Charter–like changing the form of government which would require a new Charter Commission–and some smaller–like changes to the Council Rules and Procedures, which the Council could make with simple votes.

Public Forum on December 16

We are eager to hear what residents think about the details in the Preliminary Report. That feedback will influence our Final Report, which is due to the new Town Council on January 5, 2026.

We will hold our final Public Forum in hybrid format to hear residents’ input on the Preliminary Report on Tuesday, December 16, at 7:00 pm in the Town Room on the second floor of Town Hall and on Zoom. Read more about the forum, here. Here is the Zoom link for the Public Forum.

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Editor’s Note: For more about the charter review process, read this February 2024 post.