Full and original article posted on Worcester Magazine
Earlier this year the Worcester Regional Research Bureau recommended a pilot program to establish Neighborhood Councils to boost city’s abysmal voter turnout and encourage civic engagement.
Now, District 5 City Councilor Gary Rosen is pushing an exploration of the idea on the Council floor. Neither party can take credit for the idea, though – it was, and still is, included in Worcester home rule charter that established the rules of the city’s Plan E government.
“The city council,” according to Worcester’s charter, “may establish one or more neighborhood area councils to provide advisory and self-help functions that the neighborhood area council is authorized to undertake.” The idea is to promote “limited self-government” to get citizens involved in municipal governing.
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