Task Force Established to Examine Change in Fall River’s Form of Government

Keith Thibault January 9, 2019 Comments Off on Task Force Established to Examine Change in Fall River’s Form of Government

Fall River City Council President Cliff Ponte has established a seven-member task force to explore the possibility of changing the city’s form of government.

The Fall River Task Force will specifically examine whether the city should adopt a change from the current Mayor/City Council model to a City Manager/City Council model.  If the changes to the Fall River charter were to take effect, the professional city manager would be hired by the city council and be the chief administrator of the city.

Councillor Ponte appointed the following residents to serve on the task force:

City Councillor Steven Camara, Chair
School Committeeman Kevin Aguiar, Vice-Chair
Judith Conrad
Karl Hetzler
Michael Quinn
Gloria Sadler
Cathy Ann Viveiros

Councillor Steven Camara proposed the resolution to form the task force, which was approved by the city council.  There has been no timetable as to when the task force is to complete its work.

If the task force believes a change in the form of government is warranted, it will draft a “home rule petition” to be considered by the city council.  If the council approves the petition, and it is also supported by the mayor, the matter will be put before the State Legislature for its approval.  If the legislature approves the change, the matter will be put before city voters at its next regular city election.

Here is Councillor Camara explaining his the genesis of the task force and its future.

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