Plymouth: Charter commissioners disagree about form of gov’t

The Plymouth County Charter Commission has completed its work and written a charter that right now is stuck in committee at the state house.

The charter calls for continuing and expanding county government.

But five Commissioners disagree with this recommendation and have written a minority opinion.

Charter Commissioner Christopher Sheldon, speaking for the minority, said, “We think that county government has run its course here in Massachusetts, so we would like to see county government eliminated in general.  But what I would also say is that we certainly think that expanding county government in a way that doesn’t serve any useful purpose is going in the wrong direction.”

And the wrong direction concerns the budget and the increase in the number of commissioners, he said, “Expanding government is going from three to five commissioners, but it’s also increasing the budget by almost three times, so that you’re seeing an expansion not only in terms of bodies and representation, but also an expansion in terms of money.”

The complete minority report is scheduled for publication this week and will be available by logging on to plymouthcountymass.us.

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