What to Know About Framingham’s Charter Ballot Question

FRAMINGHAM - Framingham voters will be asked a question regarding a litany of proposed changes to the city’s Home Rule Charter during the municipal election this fall.

Dozens of alterations to what amounts to Framingham’s constitution would be made with a “Yes” vote, while a “No” vote would preserve the original charter that was initially approved when Framingham became a city nearly a decade ago.

Proposals were drafted and unveiled by the Framingham Charter Review Committee. The group started their work in July 2023 and finalized their recommendations in June 2024. Adam Blumer, who served as the chair of the committee, told The Frame that their process aimed to determine what residents wanted to see in their charter. He said it required plenty of outreach to community members inside and outside of the municipal government.

Ultimately, Blumer explained that their review aimed to boost government transparency and efficiency, increase community engagement, clarify vague language within the charter, and identify major priorities for Framingham in the future.

“We just said: ‘Tell us what you think structurally is working, tell us things that you think could work better, and then tell us things that you just are not clear on,’” Blumer said in an interview with The Frame.

“Those three questions really formed the backbone of our work.”

If approved, the charter changes would add a “pre-budget” meeting months prior to the end of the fiscal year in order to provide the public with more time to give their thoughts on financial matters before the next municipal budget is created. Blumer said that meeting can give the community the chance to be more proactive than reactive during the local budgeting process.

“It’s sort of a high level look at: what do we want to accomplish in the next year,” Blumer continued.

“That should be open to the public, it should happen in January, so that the mayor and the city as a whole are getting feedback from the public at the beginning.”

In a similar vein, the charter changes would require Framingham’s mayor to hold a public budget hearing while also ensuring that the full City Council hears that hearing, compared to just the group’s Finance Subcommittee. The recommendations would also give the City Council more time to analyze the mayor’s proposed budget.

The Charter Review Committee’s proposals would restrict an official elected to a municipal position from holding another elected position. Blumer believes that change can open doors for people who want to start becoming a part of the local civic process.

“All of those are jobs that require a certain amount of work and care and dedication,” Blumer said, “and we also want to lower the barriers for entry for people who haven’t participated yet.”

The recommendations would add another at-large community member onto the city’s Traffic Commission as well, making the group comprised of five community members and four people who represent municipal government departments.

“It’s not one of these things that people are going to have huge parties over…But, it’s really something where that commission does things that impact people’s daily life in terms of how they travel around the city,” Blumer told The Frame.

The creation of a Chief Climate and Sustainability Officer position would be required by the charter if the proposed changes are approved. Blumer explained that idea came from community feedback regarding environmental issues. The former chair mentioned that the pitch was initially voted down within the Charter Review Committee, but the group decided to endorse having someone oversee the entire municipal government’s sustainable practices following additional deliberation and comments from the public.

“Process-wise, I think that’s actually the position and the recommendation that I’m most proud of,” Blumer said about the Chief Climate and Sustainability Officer role.

The approval of Framingham’s capital budget would take place in February instead of June, should the “Yes” vote win this fall. Blumer said that recommendation was made in order to allow for contractor bids to be sent out and for capital projects to be completed in a timely and efficient manner. Mayoral appointments would go directly to a subcommittee instead of the full City Council as well.

The charter recommendations also feature tweaks to the process of filling vacant positions within the City Council and School Committee. Should the seat of a district councilor or School Committee member become empty within the first 18 months of a term, a special election would be triggered. The person elected to fill a vacancy would be able to start their work right away, as opposed to having them wait until January to do so.

If the recommendations are approved, local committees and boards would be required to provide their meeting audio or video archives within a centralized place online.

The Charter Review Committee also set out to clarify the language regarding term limits for mayor; the revisions reiterate that a mayor cannot be elected more than three consecutive times. Blumer said that the current charter’s language felt unclear and that the committee wanted to certify that mayors in Framingham are limited to serving a trio of terms.

Through these changes, the inauguration for civic positions would take place on the second business day of the year instead of January 1.

It’s worth noting that some of the proposals made by the group, such as the creation of a transparency committee within the municipal government and the consideration of developing a local traffic department, are non-binding even if the “Yes” vote wins in November.

Blumer urged Framingham residents to vote “Yes.” While he recognized that the ballot itself will have a large amount of text for this question, he believes it is a practical and thoughtful list of changes to the Home Rule Charter—evidenced by the fact that there has been no organized opposition to the committee’s recommendations.

“From a political scientist point of view: sometimes with questions that look complex, voters tend to say, ‘That’s a change, I’m not sure what it means, I’m going to skip it or say no.’ We really urge you not to do that; this is a process of a lot of work,” Blumer explained.

The citywide election will be held on Tuesday, November 4. The deadline to register to vote in Framingham is Saturday, October 25.

For more local voting information, visit the city’s official website by clicking here.