Burlington Charter Panel Directs Rewrite of Select Board Oversight Provision

BURLINGTON — April 28, 2026 — Burlington's charter review committee advanced draft language for five elected bodies and launched a townwide survey campaign at its April 28 meeting. The committee, working with Collins Center consultant Anthony, agreed to replace a Select Board provision directing the board to exercise "general control" over named town departments — including the Department of Public Works — after members concluded the language conflicts with authority already granted to the Town Administrator elsewhere in the draft and inappropriately names specific departments. The panel also directed the Collins Center to draft language giving the Select Board explicit authority to inquire into town government operations, add a reference to the town's zoning bylaws as a source of Planning Board authority, develop high-level language describing the School Committee's core responsibilities, and replace a Planning Board-specific conflict-of-interest clause with a general charter-wide reference to the state ethics law. A community survey goes live May 1 and will be mailed by postcard to every Burlington household beginning May 4, with paper copies available at the library and Council on Aging; public input sessions are planned for late June and July. Library Board of Trustees chair Kevin Sheehan, also the director of the Everett Public Library, briefed the committee on trustee governance, noting that Burlington requires board approval before the library director spends any annual state aid — a rule he described as an accountability measure not universal across Massachusetts communities.