A group looking to reconsider how Andover governs itself has about 63 percent of the signatures it would need to force a charter review.
“We’re making great progress,” Committee for a New Andover Charter Chair Richard Howe said.
The group is hosting a public forum at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Memorial Hall Library to answer questions on how a charter review works and why it is pushing for one. The committee needs 15 percent, or about 4,000, signatures from Andover’s 26,000 registered voters. The Committee for a New Andover Charter has been collecting signatures since May and currently has about 2,500, Howe said.
The committee argues Andover has outgrown its open town meeting form of government, where any registered voter can participate. They say it is inefficient with long and costly meetings and does not allow for debate on complex issues. They also say it is not reflective of Andover’s population, with attendance typically under 1,000 registered voters.
Andover is the largest Massachusetts municipality to use an open town meeting form of government. Larger towns often use a representative town meeting, where reps are elected by precinct. Some communities, like Framingham, have opted to switch to a city form of government with a mayor and city council.
“Is Andover’s town meeting working for you?” the committee said on its Website. “Are you able to keep up with all the budget, zoning and other issues facing the town? Are you able to spend multiple weekday evenings each year, for three or four hours each night, at town meetings? If your answer to any of these questions is no, you are not alone.”