[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6369218,"mediaKeyId","2155142-7ae129616e4779135b520080214ef262","parentId",2155142,"title","Residents press committee for guaranteed public comment, language access and youth participation in Lynn charter review","audioSeconds",963,"startMs",1718000,"endMs",2681000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2155142-7ae129616e4779135b520080214ef262&start=1718&end=2681","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2155142-7ae129616e4779135b520080214ef262/thumbnail_1718000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6369218/Lynn-City/Essex-County/Massachusetts/Residents-press-committee-for-guaranteed-public-comment-language-access-and-youth-participation-in-Lynn-charter-review","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6369218-1d78ca0563bff0e0b4539538557d24e5/orig.mp4?Expires=1771210793&Signature=jh38Qi6PQvQ~w99hFWzLoWtrwCVTaj-lbUNpeLhtI0rSHcY2dSxlztJjPzzvrKSl~7yt9wMJekakkUEGMdkT-DDSsQATkzTr18JzngwqvvIIzTS~sG7d9zT01reYAYXi2a12YoAm3xwQsZ2j6uC2GI1RbeO4SezvhlREjeyrcTIluFXguuwPwyha3NLdnD1RF0UiZ6NP2oXf1uG9SQ-8XwH4Q6lSM9wHAdEPWbZenfk2pcvt9wc~DRJ-rjYN4NAt1VQP1vlhzfB1LAX~B59Z52ohMvDNZ5uo0TsgX0IwyXrTj0fRn-yQXLbK5HsFvHtbcC9qe8MYRMx54vCtXx7x7Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Lynn City, MA","date","2025-01-07T00:00:00Z","article","Residents and local organizations at the Lynn City Charter Review Committee hearing on Thursday urged the committee to include stronger provisions for public participation, language access and youth engagement in the charter or to leave the door open for those changes in the near term.

Altamira Luiza Ferreira, speaking as a Lynn resident, urged the city to make interpretation and translation “part of the city budget and constitution,” arguing that Lynn’s linguistic diversity requires proactive planning rather than interpreter services by special request. “I want to participate and be part of the city activities, but many times I don't dare for fear or not being able to understand what is going on,” Ferreira said through an interpreter.

Nut graf: Speakers representing neighborhood organizations, immigrant‑serving groups and civic associations asked the committee to strengthen language justice, guarantee a public comment period at City Council meetings, require better public notice and make city ordinances and departmental rules searchable online — measures they say would increase civic participation by historically underrepresented residents.

Charlie Clark and several other speakers asked the committee to require a guaranteed public comment period at City Council meetings, noting that the school committee already offers that space. “Any city event with public comment at the very least should have guaranteed language access,” Clark said, calling for Spanish translation to be provided by default at hearings.

Representatives of Lynn United for Change and neighborhood groups recommended a charter requirement for a language justice policy that would ensure sufficient resources for interpretation and translation, a proactive plan for public notice and a requirement that rules, regulations and ordinances be posted and searchable on the city website rather than only available at the city clerk’s office. Isaac Simon Hodes, speaking for Lynn United for Change, described recent instances in which Spanish‑speaking residents seeking urgent help were turned away when no interpreter was available.

Speakers also urged more formalized youth engagement, including student liaisons to city bodies, and expansion of advisory boards beyond narrow program areas to broaden resident input. Gabe Cohen Glenick, an organizer, said formalizing youth roles and ensuring translation “feels really critical.”

Ending: Committee members acknowledged the comments and said written input would be accepted; the committee will consider these suggestions at its next working meeting and the City Council will hold its own public hearing when it receives the committee’s recommendations.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Public Hearing: Lynn Charter Review Committee | January 7, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","At a Lynn charter public hearing, community members urged the committee to enshrine guaranteed public comment at City Council meetings, require proactive language access, expand youth engagement and make ordinances and rules easier to find online.","taxTitle","Lynn City, Essex County, Massachusetts","taxId",4045,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6369223,"Lynn charter committee advances modernization package; public raises concerns about home rule petition and oversight",2880,828000,3708000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2155142-7ae129616e4779135b520080214ef262&start=828&end=3708","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2155142-7ae129616e4779135b520080214ef262/thumbnail_828000.jpg","/articles/6369223/Lynn-City/Essex-County/Massachusetts/Lynn-charter-committee-advances-modernization-package-public-raises-concerns-about-home-rule-petition-and-oversight","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6369223-f8d9b3600ceb177eb58d0f7254cde100/orig.mp4?Expires=1771210793&Signature=L~OxxU2YjDuGc~DPR8pKnF5Mug2YR6-mrrYe6QzafmH0FG5VIWLXIDGm0R~YFKQ-6~f3mhlU3FBJJC4Asjn15nuuszR0YuKWdG9VMV26yLOh7CR-PEilK7-0ZM6J3VszrgBVzU~JKAGR6fbbVqnYHyOK3424n4cJstDn2aozeaBdfMt4siHEKO8vFEmtgT3YfJTvo3HU-07~Jz8ceyNKyMbYgU1N3zqEjpV~lDiIUy40kXAY8DwEP01jPvRnSWmR96zSGmswkOWLrXehMi7kucEXxxQlveZsJhEcsctA1ipAf7PdPrHCV0TxL7gCCXaiONuaVvaYnmlt9w~iHxUvXQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Lynn City Charter Review Committee on Thursday presented a slate of proposed updates to the city’s 1978 charter intended to modernize language and streamline governance while stopping short of sweeping structural changes.

The committee’s chair, Tom McGee, told attendees the panel’s work — a 10-year statutory review — focused on clarity and administrative improvements rather than wholesale reform. “The mission was to modernize language and to make Lynn’s governance more effective and efficient,” McGee said at the public hearing.

The committee outlined several substantive proposals it plans to forward to the City Council and mayor: the city council would continue to appoint the city clerk but not other city officials; council confirmation authority would be retained over mayoral appointments; department heads would no longer serve for indefinite terms; school committee vacancies would be filled by the remaining school committee members by selecting a defeated candidate who received at least 20% of the ballots cast for that office, and if no eligible person exists the seat would be filled by a joint convention of the city council and the school committee. The proposed charter would also remove Lynn’s current requirement to seek state approval for reorganization of city government via a Home Rule Petition, and it would require the mayor to prepare a five‑year capital improvement program for council approval. The committee said it has met six times in public and will meet once more before forwarding recommendations to the City Council.

Nut graf: The changes are framed as technical and procedural updates to improve readability and local control, but residents at the hearing pressed the committee on process and oversight — urging that some of the proposals be decided by city voters rather than forwarded to the Legislature via a Home Rule Petition, and asking for stronger council checks on mayoral authority.

Public commenters asked that major changes be placed on the ballot rather than handled through a Home Rule Petition. Gina O’Toole, a Lynn resident, said she opposed using a Home Rule Petition to finalize charter changes because it removes a direct public vote. “Changing a city charter is changing the way the governance of the city works, and it takes away a lot of the times home rule petitions,” O’Toole said. Joanne Lynn, also a resident, asked for clearer definitions of proposed audit language and questioned lowering signature thresholds required to qualify city ballot questions.

Other speakers pressed for more explicit limits or council authority on mayoral appointments. Gordie Jean Francois asked that some appointment approvals require a two‑thirds council vote to reduce the risk of nepotism. Charlie Clark, a resident who said he has attended both school committee and council meetings, supported giving the council better access to information earlier in the hiring and confirmation process so the council can provide meaningful oversight rather than acting as a “rubber stamp.”

The committee also proposed shortening from two years to one year the waiting period before a former mayor or council member may hold a paid city position after leaving office.

The committee said the proposals are not intended to be major structural reforms but to make the charter “more efficient, readable, and understood by the public at large.” McGee said the committee will incorporate public input before sending its final recommendations to the City Council; the council will hold its own public hearing before any changes move to the state as a Home Rule Petition.

Ending: The committee set its next meeting for the 23rd at 4 p.m. to review public comments and finalize recommendations; that meeting was described as a committee working session (recorded but described as not a public hearing). The hearing closed with a motion to adjourn that passed by voice vote; a formal tally was not specified in the record.","The Lynn City Charter Review Committee presented a set of proposed updates intended to modernize the 1978 charter, including new rules on mayoral appointments, department head terms and school committee vacancy fills. Residents at a public hearing urged ballot approval, stronger council oversight and clearer auditing and transparency provisions.","actionData","errors"]

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Residents press committee for guaranteed public comment, language access and youth participation in Lynn charter review

Lynn charter committee advances modernization package; public raises concerns about home rule petition and oversight