Council Expected To Comment On Proposed Charter Changes

By Steve Bigham

Since first convening nearly five months ago, the Charter Revision Commission has gained consensus on several significant changes to the existing town charter. And, not surprisingly, their proposed changes have gained the attention of those in town government who would be most affected by those changes.

First, the charter panel concluded that Newtown did not need a town manager as some had suggested. Instead, members agreed, the first selectman needed more power in order to administer the town, so they proposed making it a four-year post rather than two years. The commission also recommends giving the first selectman veto power over the Legislative Council.

In addition, the Charter Revision Commission has also proposed the creation of a six-member Board of Finance to work with the first selectman and Legislative Council. The Board of Finance would take part in the year-long planning of the town’s financial picture, and, at budget time, would make recommendations to the Legislative Council. The council, in turn, would make the final budget decisions before a spending plan would go to the voters.

In response to the news of these dramatic changes currently under consideration, the Legislative Council requested a second meeting with the commission to discuss a few issues. It was the council that created the charter board and some council members wanted to know what exactly it had in mind.

“They are proposing some very dramatic changes [in town government] that no one really anticipated,” council chairman Pierre Rochman said a month ago. “Everyone on the council is sensitive to the fact that we don’t want to interfere with what they’re doing, but if they feel comfortable with us getting together then we’d like to meet with them.”

Charter Revision Commission Chairman Bill Sheluck welcomed the idea of another joint meeting, pointing out that open dialogue is in everyone’s best interest. The meeting will take place Thursday night, March 22, at 7 pm at Town Hall South.

“The more we’re on the same page, the better off we are,” said Mr Sheluck, noting that he would prefer to reach consensus with the council now rather than get stuck in confrontation later on. The Legislative Council will need to approve any recommended changes to the charter before they are presented to the public at a referendum in November.

Council members are expected to bring up the commission’s proposal to increase the first selectman’s term from two to four years since few if any of them are in favor of the idea. Mr Sheluck welcomes all comments.

“Of all the things that we have suggested, the one proposed change that has received the most comment has been four year terms for the first selectman. We certainly would look at that and anything else that we have reached consensus on if we felt the town was better off without that change,” Mr Sheluck said this week. “The idea of a process like this is that you get feedback along the way. That’s why we’ve done it this way, so that we could remain flexible throughout the process.”

The Charter Revision Commission has also recommended the elimination of the Board of Selectmen and has come to a consensus that the council would need a two-thirds vote in order to override a veto by the first selectman. The charter panel, which meets every Thursday night, is still discussing whether part or all of the council should be elected “at-large.”

 

Defeated Budgets Should Return To Council

At last week’s meeting, the charter panel agreed that a defeated town budget be returned to the council and not to the proposed Board of Finance. “We concluded that once the people had spoken, then it was appropriate for the council to be the body to deliberate the budget, because they represent the people,” Mr Sheluck explained.

Also, the commission elected not to provide the first selectman with veto power the second time around. It also determined that any budget cuts made by the council would be made on the bottom line only. The first selectmen and Board of Education would be able to determine where the cuts would be made.

This week, Finance Director Ben Spragg was scheduled to meet with the charter panel to discuss financial matters such as transfers, special appropriations, and capital expenditures

The commission also hopes to begin discussion of Newtown’s town meeting form of government and whether or not it has a future here in town. Many in town want to see it removed because they see only a small number of citizens making decisions for the entire electorate. Historically, town meetings were attended by a majority of the townspeople, but that is no longer true. On the other side of the coin, those who support the town meeting say it is an expeditious way to deal with special purchases and helps the town avoid the possibility of having to hold several referendums following a budget defeat. Under the current charter, if a budget is defeated, it then goes back to the council and then to a town meeting, unless there is a petition for a referendum. The alternative to a town meeting would be to go directly to a referendum every time and then keep repeating the process again and again. Critics of that plans say the process can be both expensive and time consuming.