1975-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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{ REPORT OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT STUDY COMMITTEE - 2/2/76 In this report recommendations are made regarding the steps which can be Before presenting taken to improve the Municipal Government in our Town. those recommendations, however, it will assist understanding to briefly review a little of the past history which has brought us to the present status and to give consideration to some of the factors which will influence the needs of the years ahead; such as: 1. From Town records, it is known that in the year 1965, the resident mbered 685; and at the most recent count, population of Mashpee nu January, 1975, that figure has increased to 2,497. It can be conser- vatively anticipated that the resident population of Mashpee will approximate 7,500 to 10,000 by the year 1985. (These figures do not include transient population.) 2. Of all the communities on Cape Cod, the Town of Mashpee has a greater number of desireable areas for home development than any other area. The major factor contributing to this condition is the abundance of available fresh water lakes andsacoantial develop- It is to be expected that, throughout the Town, e ment will accelerate. It is also to be expected that Mashpee will develop an increasing amount of industrial and commercial areas. It can be realized that, for successful development, our Town is going to require careful planning and control. 3. Only a few years ago, Mashpee was a township of small population i where practically everyone knew everyone else, and a very simple form of Town Administration and Management was adequate. That simple form of Government, with a few changes, is still in effect. A review of the "Town's Annual Report" shows that there are now ! thirty-nine appointed committees which independently report to the Selectmen. Additionally, there are a number of major departments (' which work independently and, under the law, are required to n S , report only to the Taxpayers at the infrequent general meetings of the Town. It must be immediately apparent that the thirty-nine committees, which report to the Selectmen are in an organizational position which cannot possibly be controlled or adequately integrated by ` I three Selectmen in their available time. It must be equally apparent that the regulation and integration of the major depart- ments, which report only to the Taxpayers at town meetings, is an organizational impossibility. i [[ Clearly, the organization of our Town Government must be updated { to reasonably modern standards. _f S { There are many forms of Municipal Government which are employed int e f other towns in the Commonwealth; and at this management and administration o t time, the Municipal Government Study Committee is not yet ready to submit a fully researched and complete proposal for the top to bottom restructuring of our Town Government. From the studies which have been made, however, a there are some primary decisions which can and must be made before it will ;}, • be possible to correctly define, assign or reassign all of the duties and respon- i s ! sibilities of our developing Town. Those decisions are: rj r. 106