Click image for Haverhill City Council agenda.
Mayor James J. Fiorentini’s proposal to replace the current nine-member City Council with an 11-member body may have stirred up the proverbial hornet’s nest.
Councilors tonight are expected to hear a proposal from Councilor John A. Michitson to have the Council’s Public Outreach Committee hear from citizens about proposed changes to the city charter. Under the mayor’s plan, the Council would be comprised of a representative from each of the city’s seven wards and four members elected “at large”—or from any area of the city.
During a recent forum, “Exploring the Possibility of Neighborhood Representation,” Michitson and others raised the possibility powers of the mayor could be reduced and School Committee members also elected by district.
“If you really want to give those 11 people a real opportunity to make a difference in their city, then we have to look at the power between the mayor and the City Council. We really ought to be taking a good look at that as well,” Michitson said.
The forum was sponsored by Greater Haverhill Indivisible and Latino Coalition of Haverhill and covered by WHAV.
In other business, City Councilor Mary Ellen Daly O’Brien is also expected to discuss the proposed Wicked Axe Restaurant. As WHAV first reported Jan. 13, The city’s Board of Appeals planned to hear a request for a special permit for a “hatchet throwing” entertainment license, which is not included in the city’s zoning table. The application was submitted by Barbara Gliklich for Academy Plaza, 719 S. Main St.
The Haverhill City Council meets at 7 p.m., tonight, in the Theodore A. Pelosi Jr. City Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall.