Statement from the Medford City Council: Medford City Council Submits Second Amended Charter to Mayor for Submission to the State Legislature

The City Council voted 6-1 to approve the amended charter, which would go before voters in November 2025 if approved by the Mayor and the Legislature

(MEDFORD) — The Medford City Council submitted a second amended City Charter draft to the Mayor for her approval on Tuesday night and voted to release the following statement:

“With Tuesday’s vote, the Medford City Council has once again fulfilled its role in the charter review process by approving a new City Charter for consideration by Medford voters.

This vote followed three months of deliberation by the City Council on a new version of the city’s core governing document. During these meetings, Councilors considered the research and evidence presented by each Councilor, the final report of the Charter Study Committee, edits made by the Mayor in January and April, information and comments made by staff from the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at UMass Boston, and comments and ideas from Medford residents.

This charter review process began in 2022 following an insufficient number of signatures being collected to initiate a Home Rule Charter process and an insufficient 4 to 3 vote by the Medford City Council to request state legislative approval for an appointed Charter Review Committee. In 2022, the Mayor appointed a Charter Study Committee (CSC) charged with developing a draft charter for the Mayor to submit to the City Council for consideration. Over the next two years, the CSC collected public feedback and met with the Collins Center, resulting in a final report and a draft charter submitted to the Mayor in December 2024.

The City Council began consideration when the Mayor submitted her edited version of the CSC draft charter in January 2025 with a short timeline to approve a draft by early April to ensure it was approved by the Legislature in time for the November 2025 election. Council President Bears and Councilor Tseng, chair of the Council’s governance committee, had requested earlier meetings to begin Council consideration of the CSC’s proposals, but accepted a request by the Mayor’s Office to wait until the CSC had submitted its final report.

Over several meetings, the City Council deliberated, made amendments to the Mayor’s draft, and approved an amended City Charter to submit to the Mayor on March 11, 2025 by a 6-0 vote (1 absent). The Mayor returned this draft to the Council on April 1, 2025 with further amendments, which the City Council considered on April 8, 2025 and referred to a Special Meeting. While many Councilors raised serious questions and voiced strong opinions about issues of representation, balance of power, other policies, and the process itself, in the spirit of compromise, the Council submitted a second amended City Charter to the Mayor by a 6-1 vote on April 15, 2025.

Per the standard practices of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Massachusetts Senate as well as advice from the Collins Center, the Legislature is much more likely to approve home rule petitions like this Special Act Charter when the local legislative body approves them by a unanimous or near-unanimous vote. Both of the Council’s votes on amended City Charter drafts fulfilled this condition, with a 6-0 vote (1 absent) for the March 11, 2025 version and a 6-1 vote for the April 15, 2025 version.

The Council encourages the Mayor to submit either approved version of the new City Charter to the Legislature for its approval so voters can adopt or reject a new City Charter at the ballot box in November 2025. The City Council strongly believes that voters will adopt a new charter and that either of the documents the Council has submitted to the Mayor would serve as a strong governing document for the future of Medford.”