A move to town council is proposed

“We are going to recommend it and see what they want to do,’’ he said of the voters.

Town Meeting will be asked to authorize the town to seek special legislation effecting the charter change. If the article passes, lawmakers will still need to approve the special act, which would be contingent on passage of a ballot referendum at the town election next April. The change, which the committee plans to outline to selectmen on Aug. 9, would be the most significant to Tewksbury’s governmental format since the town adopted its existing charter in 1986, which established the position of town manager.

The proposed town council would consist of seven at-large members. The five-member Board of Selectmen and the open Town Meeting would both be dissolved.

Wilson said his committee concluded that Tewksbury’s existing open Town Meeting “has become a special-interest type of meeting where whoever gets the most people into the room gets their way.

“If there is a situation involving condo associations, all the condo people come out… . If it’s a situation involving kids in the community, all the parents come out. What you have is a government that makes decisions based on the vocal minorities that come out to the meetings.’’

He said a town council format would eliminate that problem, allowing for decisions to be made based on “what is in the best interest of the whole community.’’

Because it could meet regularly through the year, the town council could also bring greater efficiency to the government, Wilson said, noting that matters requiring Town Meeting action now often have to wait months for resolution.

Wilson said his committee rejected another option - adopting a representative Town Meeting.

“It didn’t seem like it streamlined anything or made communities run more efficiently,’’ he said. “We got the sense it created different sets of problems,’’ including meetings that extend over numerous nights.