Charter Issues On Deck—

Council Slates Budget

Hearing For March 29

By John Voket

Residents and taxpayers can have their say regarding the proposed 2006-2007 town budget next Wednesday. The Legislative Council has scheduled its sole public hearing on the budget for March 29 at 7:30 pm in the Newtown Middle School auditorium.

Earlier this month, the Board of Finance unanimously passed a townwide budget proposal of $96.58 million that would raise the current property tax rate to 27.8 mills. Since a mill represents one dollar for every thousand dollars in assessed personal property, a home assessed at $250,000 would be taxed at about $6,950.

That would represent a $425 increase for that home, a 6.5 percent tax hike.

Depending on the reaction to public comments next Wednesday, that rate could still be adjusted up or down as final budget deliberations commence at the April 5 Legislative Council meeting. Once the council endorses a final number, taxpayers still have the opportunity to accept or reject the proposal during a referendum set for April 25.

Joining the budget on the council’s April 5 agenda will be discussion and possible action on the Charter Revision Commission’s proposed charge and the endorsement of its candidates.

Council Chairman Will Rodgers told The Bee Wednesday that if there is little discussion, and there is subsequent action on the budget, the full council may have an opportunity to also pass both a formal charter charge and possibly endorse nominees expected to be brought forth following next Monday’s meeting of the Charter Commission Selection Committee.

The charge was formally presented to the full council March 15, and was tabled for review and consideration until April. According to selection committee’s meeting minutes, that panel failed to reach a consensus on its final list of nominees, so no information was brought forth during the last full council meeting.

Committee Revisiting Selections

On March 8, selection committee member Keith Jacobs moved nine members and three alternates for the Charter Commission. However that motion, which was seconded by the selection committee chair Joseph Borst, failed by a 2–2 vote.

Mr Borst said this week that the finalists had been culled from 17 contenders during an executive session held in mid-February. But, he said, their formal nomination was delayed, in part, because the charge was not formally passed on to the full council at that time.

Mr Borst also said the selection committee was still conducting a “review of qualifications” of nominees up to the March 8 meeting. Mr Rodgers explained that during next Monday’s selection committee meeting, the list of possible Charter Commission nominees may be further amended before being passed to the full council.

The list of prospective commission members moved by Mr Jacobs included Carol Signorelli, Gary Davis, Joseph Hemingway, LaReine Frampton, Al Cramer, Audrey Greenwood, Po Murray, Guy Howard, and Joan Plouffe. George Caracciola, Bruce Moulthrop, and Anna Wiedeman were proposed as Charter Commission alternates.

Mr Borst noted that Mr Moulthrop is currently employed as an information technology specialist by the Board of Education, and that Mr Caracciola served on the last Charter Revision Commission.

Mr Hemingway is a former Legislative Council member who was recently appointed to the Economic Development Commission, and Ms Frampton is an elected Registrar of Voters. Ms Murray and Mr Davis are co-founders of WECAN (WE Care About Newtown), a special interest group that is advocating for numerous education and municipal initiatives including the construction of a new high school to address anticipated future student population growth.

Council member Michael Iassogna, who serves on the selection committee with David Brown, Mr Jacobs, and Mr Borst, said that up to now he was pleased with the candidate screening process.

“Not only did we have a fairly long list of volunteers, but they were all enthusiastic about the idea of serving,” Mr Iassogna said. “They all expressed that their main interest was to make a contribution to the community. As far as I know, some of them had never been involved in town business before, so it was great to see them volunteer.”

Mr Iassogna said the committee was particularly interested in qualifying candidates who had read the charter, and who understood it.

“I was interested in having nominees who had no predetermined notion of how things should be changed,” he said. “I know some of them had attended town meetings, which I thought was a positive trait.”

According to Mr Iassogna, he was not interested in nominating candidates who “had all the answers to all the questions.”

“I wanted individuals who I thought could function well on a team, not overbearing, but not ones who would sit back in the corner either,” he said. “I think those [traits] would deliver the best results.”

Mr Rodgers said that the charter business could very well be “put on the back burner” until April 19, or even May 3 if discussion and business related to the budget takes center stage.

“Now that we’ve gotten to the meat of the budget, and we’re so far along with the charter charge and [commission] selection, I don’t have a problem putting charter business off,” Mr Rodgers said. “It depends on how much discussion there is on the budget. If it goes faster than I expect, it’s a possibility both the budget and the charter business can be approved April 5.”

The council chairman said that another possibility could be that the budget proposal and charter charge could be approved, with the final vote on the Charter Commission candidates coming at a subsequent meeting on either April 19 or May 3.