Dear fellow Hanoverians:<\/p>\n
I have had several lengthy conversations regarding Article 11 on the
\nAnnual Town Meeting Warrant recently that I thought would be of
\ninterest to you, dear readers. Over the past 18 months, the Selectmen
\nand the School Committee have negotiated in good faith in order to
\ncome to a “Memorandum of Agreement” (MOA) that specifies the
\nprovisions of the consolidation of the School Maintenance Department
\nand the Town’s Maintenance Department. Both parties were in agreement
\nthat the two maintenance departments should be managed by the new
\nFacilities Manager. Recently, however, a major sticking point has
\nsurfaced.<\/p>\n
Instead of using the MOA as the basis for consolidation of the two
\nmaintenance departments, Article 11, as sponsored by the Selectmen and
\nthe Town Manager, requests authorization under Massachusetts General
\nLaws Chapter 71, Section 68 (first drafted in 1827) for “the Town to
\nhave General Charge and Superintendence of schoolhouses, and keep them
\nin good order for the Town of Hanover…”. The Selectmen received a
\nlegal opinion from Town Counsel (that is attached) stating that this
\nstatute would consolidate the maintenance functions of Town-owned and
\nSchool-owned buildings, and regardless of the existing MOA.<\/p>\n
In response, the School Committee has received a legal opinion from
\nSchool Counsel (also attached) that suggests the town instead adopt
\nthe provisions of M.G.L. Chapter 71, Section 37M (first drafted in
\n1992). According to School Council, this statute consolidates the
\nmaintenance functions of the Town-owned and School-owned buildings,
\nand has several distinctions that the schools are arguing are in the
\nbest interests of the children of Hanover. One of the most notable
\ndistinctions is that the Selectman’s recommendation (Section 68) does
\nnot allow the School Committee the ability to revoke the consolidation
\nagreement, while the School Committee’s recommendation (Section 37M)
\nallows either party to rescind the consolidation agreement with a
\nmajority vote.<\/p>\n
This issue will be debated on Town Meeting floor – most likely on
\nMonday night since it appears so early in the warrant. Please take the
\ntime to read the attached legal opinions (there is also a third
\nopinion from town counsel in response to the school counsel opinion)
\nto help you to form your own views before voting this Monday!<\/p>\n
For “Around Town on the Web”,
\nCathy H-B<\/p>\n
—
\n“Around Town on the Web” is a community service that has been provided to
\nself-selected residents of the Town of Hanover since the spring of 2004.
\nFor submission guidelines and answers to frequently asked questions about
\n“ATOTW”, please go to http:\/\/www.atotw.com.
\nTo search for archived “ATOTW” news, view the archive.
\nIf someone forwarded this message to you and you would like to receive
\nthese communications directly, or if you would like to add a new e-mail
\naddress to our system, click here.
\nIf you would like to be removed from this distribution list, click here.<\/p>\n
—
\nPowered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com —<\/p>\n
This message contains attachments that can be viewed with a webbrowser:<\/p>\n
Location: http:\/\/atotw.com\/maillist\/dl.php?id=1<\/p>\n
Location: http:\/\/atotw.com\/maillist\/dl.php?id=4<\/p>\n
Location: http:\/\/atotw.com\/maillist\/dl.php?id=3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear fellow Hanoverians: I have had several lengthy conversations regarding Article 11 on the Annual Town Meeting Warrant recently that I thought would be of interest to you, dear readers. Over the past 18 months, the Selectmen and the School … Continue reading