SABATTUS – After months of revisions and legal review, the Charter Commission released its latest version of the document at a public hearing Tuesday night. Voters will decide whether to accept it Nov. 7.

“Our next step now is to discuss the few concerns the townspeople had tonight about some of the wording and then resubmit the charter to the selectmen next Tuesday,” Chairman Jon Mennealy said. “After that, we wait and vote on it come Election Day.”

Mennealy and other commission members summarized the charter for residents and invited town attorney Marc Frenette, who reviewed the charter, to attend.

Among the articles within the town charter, the commission outlined numerous ways in which the town would be run under the charter if passed.

One article states that the town’s form of government would be changed from five selectmen and a town administrator to a town manager working with the five elected selectmen.

The town administrator position would be eliminated.

The commission said if a town manager reduces the selectmen’s workload, the board would be willing to make a reduction in its selectmen stipend.

Article II also has the selectmen starting their terms in early December allowing them more time to become familiar with and more involved in the budget process. This would also stand true for elected members of the school committee. Terms expiring would be extended up to December.

The charter also outlines that the budget committee will be made up of six elected and three appointed members.

To help with the tax commitment, the charter states that the annual town budget proposal for the town administration will be due by March 1 of each year; the school budget by April 15.

Union contractual labor agreements are exempt from this practice. An emergency clause also has been added allowing selectmen to borrow as needed in case of disasters which directly affects public health and life.

“This is not a perfect document,” selectmen’s Chairman Guy Desjardins said. “But it gives us a footprint to start with.”

An article that raised eyebrows during the meeting was VII which outlines a “closed-form” question structure on the town warrant. This means that although taxpayers may vote to decrease the amount being spent on one article it does not allow residents to increase a line item above its capped budget.

If passed, the charter would not be effective until July 1, 2007.

Frenette said revisions and amendments can be done but the proper steps would need to be followed. It involves going before the Board of Selectmen, if needed, a petition and then a public notice followed by a public hearing and election would need to follow, he said.

For a complete reading of the charter log onto http://chartercommission.sabattus.net.