The Newtown Legislative Council has begun the process of forming a Charter Revision Commission to review and revise the existing town charter, an effort last undertaken in 2021 and required by charter every five years.

The Council on January 21 formed two committees to assist with the charter revision process. The Appointments Committee, chaired by Eric Paradis, will advertise and recruit candidates, interview them, then select members to serve on the new Charter Revision Commission. The Charge Committee, chaired by Keith Alexander, will solicit input from other town boards and commissions and staff, review and organize potential revisions, and create a formal charge document that will guide the Charter Revision Commission.

The Appointments Committee consists of Legislative Council members Eric Paradis, Donna Rahtelli, Ben Ruben, Jordana Bloom, Lily Mac Hugh, and Chris Gardner. Paradis will chair and Rahtelli will vice-chair.

The Appointments Committee is seeking candidates to appoint and is expected to advertise through The Newtown Bee and the town website, newtown-ct.gov. It plans to meet on February 4 to “solidify interview questions.”

The Charge Committee consists of Legislative Council members Keith Alexander, Michelle Embree Ku, Steve Stolfi, Arnie Berman, Chris Eide, and Laura Miller. Alexander will chair and Embree Ku will vice-chair.

Any Newtown resident interested in applying to serve on the Charter Revision Commission may email a letter of interest stating why they want to serve and a resume to the First Selectman’s Office in care of Sue Marcinek, executive assistant to the first selectman, at susan.marcinek@newtown-ct.gov. The Appointments Committee will review all applications and schedule interviews in mid- to late-February. All applications must be received by February 18. All members must be registered to vote in Newtown.

The Charter Revision Commission will be appointed in March by the Legislative Council. It will have between five and 15 members and be politically balanced. A public hearing will be held before the commission begins its work to solicit input from residents. A second public hearing will be scheduled after the commission completes its work.

The previous Charter Revision Commission began its work in 2021 and finished in June 2022, and was made up of three Democrats, three Republicans, and one Independent, detailing proposed changes and recommending the elimination of the Board of Finance. Though most of the changes passed muster with voters in November 2022, the elimination of the Board of Finance did not, being defeated nearly two-to-one.

Approved by voters were a number of smaller changes, including redefining the term “Town Department” so the Board of Education could be exempted from certain duties and functions of Town Bodies, which violated provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes; eliminating the Building Appeals Board that had not been seated or active in recent memory; allowing members of boards and commissions to abstain from votes on minutes for meetings where they were not in attendance; changing the method for filling vacancies in the Board of Education to be consistent with the Legislative Council; making the town clerk the registrar of vital statistics; empowering the Police Commission to also act as a Civilian Police Review Board; and modifying procedures for emergency appropriations.

It is unknown what issues the Legislative Council will charge the new iteration of the Charter Revision Commission to discuss. One possibility is a town administrator or town manager. The town had a Town Administrator Workgroup look into the possibility of hiring a town administrator to assist the first selectman in administrative tasks. A town administrator did not require a charter revision, but a town manager would. The town never hired a town administrator in spite of the Workgroup’s recommendation in favor of it in 2023.

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Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.