The Town of Danvers Town Meeting/Town Manager Acts Review Committee on March 5, 2025, heard recommendations from guest Peter Zuck and advanced several edits to the town manager and town meeting acts, including moving a recall-election provision and replacing a 30-day advance-notice requirement for organizational changes with a requirement that the town manager notify the Select Board.

Zuck, introduced by committee chair Sally Calhoun, described his long municipal career and told the committee he would make “very little” change to the Town Manager Act’s core philosophy of professional management while endorsing two targeted changes the committee is considering: removing a residency requirement for the town manager and adjusting how the town accountant is appointed.

The guest’s remarks mattered to the committee because they reinforced the act’s original intent — to create a professional manager accountable for day-to-day operations — while flagging specific places where the committee’s draft language could unintentionally constrain executive flexibility. The committee used the session to ask follow-up questions and to vote on several drafting choices before the committee’s next deliverables.

Committee members heard Zuck outline the historical origins of Danvers’s Town Manager Act and the practical reasons to keep its management-centered structure. “The intent of the Town Manager Act was to move away from what I call small-town politics ... and to have a system of professional management,” Zuck said. He told members that in his view the manager should be empowered to organize municipal operations and that excessive board approval requirements could make routine management decisions “slightly more political.”

Zuck did say he would endorse two of the committee’s proposed changes: eliminating a residency requirement for the town manager and moving the town accountant’s appointment to increase managerial control of the finance function. He added that any nonresident manager would need to live within reasonable commuting distance and be present in the community when required. He also recommended maintaining strong communication between the manager and the Select Board rather than adding legislative constraints that could hamper operational flexibility.

Committee discussion after Zuck’s presentation focused on specific drafting choices in the red-line version of the Town Manager Act the committee is preparing for a report to the Select Board. The committee debated and then approved moving a proposed recall-election subsection earlier in the act so it sits with other elected-office provisions. Members also voted to remove a proposed clause that would have required the town manager to give 30 days’ advance notice to the Select Board before reorganizing departments and instead inserted a simpler requirement that “the town manager shall notify the Select Board of such change.” At the same time the committee left in place language that expects the manager to provide reports to the Select Board, and members agreed to clarify that such reports should be provided “at least monthly.”

The committee discussed implementation details and next steps: members asked staff to reconcile language between the Town Manager Act and the Town Meeting Act so the two documents read consistently; several members suggested preparing an orientation packet and an annual forum to increase engagement by town meeting members; and the committee set an internal target to submit a draft report to the Select Board by mid-May.

Votes at a glance — motions recorded during the meeting included acceptance of minutes and two substantive drafting decisions:

- Motion to accept the minutes of the Feb. 19 meeting “as is.” Motion seconded and approved (affirmative vote recorded).

- Motion to move the recall-election subsection into the portion of the act addressing elected positions (renumbering required). Motion seconded and approved (affirmative vote recorded).

- Motion to remove the red-line clause requiring 30 days’ advance notice to the Select Board for reorganizations and to add the sentence “the town manager shall notify the Select Board of such change.” Motion seconded and approved (affirmative vote recorded).

Committee chair Sally Calhoun told members she will prepare a draft report outline and requested committee members email suggested items to include before the next meeting. The committee also agreed to skip an April 2 meeting date and reconvene on March 19 at the senior center to continue red-line review work. The committee set a target to file its report to the Select Board by May 14 so the Select Board could review it ahead of the coming months’ calendar.

The committee’s conversation combined policy framing, historical context and line-item drafting work. Zuck repeatedly stressed the original purpose of the Town Manager Act — a managerial, nonpartisan approach — while acknowledging the committee’s interest in accountability measures and clearer member orientation material for town meeting members. The committee’s approved drafting changes are procedural and editorial; they do not constitute final law and will be subject to further review and to any action taken by the Select Board or town meeting.

The committee’s next scheduled meeting is March 19, 2025, at the senior center; members were asked to review the red-line drafts of both the Town Manager Act and Town Meeting Act and to flag inconsistencies prior to that session.