Melrose Leaders Ask Committee To Approve 'City Council' Change

MELROSE, MA — If you want any 'Board of Aldermen' shirts of coffee mugs for posterity, you better hurry. Melrose officials on Tuesday asked the Municipalities and Regional Government Committee to approve their charter change renaming the antiquated Board of Aldermen to City Council.

The State House News Service reported State Rep. Paul Brodeur, State Sen. Jason Lewis and President of the Board Jennifer Lemmerman made their case before the committee. Patch was first to report Lemmerman was pushing for the change this year for the first time since a failed attempt in 2016. The Board approved the home rule petition in April, sending it to the state.

Read: Melrose Residents Have Their Say About Name Change

Melrose is the only municipality in Massachusetts with a Board of Aldermen after Somerville switched to a City Council earlier this year. Woburn still has aldermen, but they make up a city council. Several other nearby cities have made the switch in recent years, including Newton, Everett and Chelsea.

State House News reported action could be taken on the bill quickly. Sen. Becca Rausch, who co-chairs the Municipalities Committee with Rep. James O'Day, said the bill was "time-sensitive."

"Words do matter. Indeed," Rausch said.