The Explainer: Waltham’s City Charter is nearly 40 years old. How could it change?

By CHARLIE JOHNSON

Waltham’s City Charter is approaching 40 years in its current form, raising questions about how well it fits the city today as other Massachusetts communities revisit their local government structures. 

A charter, which functions as the local constitution for a city or town, establishes local offices, power distribution and procedures. In effect, the charter determines who has the authority to act before any policy debate begins. 

Diana Young, a retired lawyer and longtime Waltham resident, served on a League of Women Voters of Waltham committee that studied the city’s charter and produced a report in 2020. Waltham’s charter has not been comprehensively revised since 1986. 

“It’s a long time,” Young said. 

Waltham became a city in 1884. In 1918, the city adopted a charter that used a weaker-mayor, city-manager form of government. Five years later, in 1923, Waltham shifted to a stronger mayor system, placing more executive authority in the mayor’s office. 

On Nov. 4, 1986, Waltham voters approved the charter that still governs the city today. The most significant changes were extending the mayor’s term from two to four years, requiring the mayor to prepare capital improvement plans every five years, and requiring vacancies on city boards and commissions to be filled more quickly. The revised charter had been developed over more than three years of hearings, meetings and revisions. 

Routes to change

Waltham used the Home Rule process to adopt its current charter, with recommendations developed locally before the proposal moved through the state Legislature and then went before voters. 

Massachusetts municipalities have two broad routes for revising a charter: Home Rule or a special act process. Under the Home Rule process, established in 1966, cities and towns can reshape their local government without first seeking approval from the Legislature. Proposed changes cannot conflict with the state Constitution or general laws. The Attorney General’s Office reviews changes for consistency with state law. 

The Home Rule process begins with a petition signed by at least 15% of the municipality’s registered voters. Once enough signatures are certified, voters decide whether to create a charter commission. At the same election, voters choose nine residents to serve on the commission if the ballot question passes. The commission then studies the charter, holds public hearings and develops recommendations. Any proposed revision returns to voters for approval. 

“The public starts it, and the public ends it if they approve it,” Young said. 

A special act, by contrast, is generally developed through local government before being submitted to the Legislature. 

The special act route is more flexible. State law does not prescribe a specific method for drafting proposed charter changes before submitting them to the Legislature. Communities often appoint a local study committee, but the size, membership, scope and timeline of that committee can be determined locally. In a city, the City Council must approve submission of the proposed special act before it moves to the Legislature. 

Nearby cities revisit long-standing charters

Recently, charter debates have ensued in nearby Massachusetts cities. In November 2025, Cambridge, Somerville and Medford all advanced major charter changes through special acts after years of local review. 

Cambridge’s new charter was the first substantial update since 1940. One of the most significant changes altered the mayor’s role on the School Committee. The mayor remains a member, but the committee now elects its own chair rather than having the mayor serve automatically. 

Like Waltham, Medford’s previous charter dated back to 1986. The new charter also extended the mayor’s term to four years and changed the City Council from seven at-large members to 11 members, with eight elected by ward and three at-large. Medford and Waltham share commonalities. The two are similar in population size and share some demographic and housing characteristics. 

Some attempts to change have come up short. In 2017, Newton formed a commission to assess its charter, which was last changed in 1971. The commission proposed reducing Newton’s 24-member City Council, the largest in the state, to 12 members, with one councilor representing each of the city’s eight wards and four additional citywide seats. Newton voters rejected this proposal. 

Unlike some municipal charters, Waltham’s charter does not require periodic review. Staff at the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at UMass Boston, which advises cities and towns on charter changes, said they consistently recommend a regular review mechanism every 10 years.

For Waltham, residents and city officials must decide whether to reopen its nearly 40-year-old charter.