Town Charter Poised For Change—

Council Frames Debate

For Charter Revision

By Kendra Bobowick

Hinting at the “extreme likeliness” of soon creating a Charter Revision Commission, Legislative Council members moved to adopt its charge for the would-be panel Wednesday evening.

Council Co-chairman Timothy Holian drafted several pages of the proposed charge for the future review team, which received unanimous approval from council members.

Chairman William Rodgers clarified that the document was part of the council’s preparation to select a committee, saying that although no committee has been chosen, “We have a charge ready to go.” Mr Rodgers quickly moved to table discussions of prospective members until a future meeting.

The charge ranges from how to conduct charter meetings to requests from Legislative Council members.

The paperwork asks, “It is our request and desire that you complete your review and report and submit final product to the Legislative Council in time for proposed matters to appear on the ballot for the November 2006 off-year election, or, in the alternative, on the ballot during the 2007 budget referendum.”

The charge also directs charter revision members to “visit and consider the following issues and recommendations,” which include handling legal actions against the town, complaints made to the Board of Ethics, and, ironically in light of this week’s third and final budget vote, the document also asks review committee members, “How many budget referendums do we need?”

If ultimately revised, other points of consideration listed for review would have affected recent budget activity. For example, the document asks, “Should fewer or more voters be required to successfully petition for a referendum? How easy or difficult should it be?”

The charge also asks the charter panel to consider the make-up of town boards and committees: “Should members of the same party be limited to one-half the [Board of Education] seats? Should this requirement exist also for the [Board of Finance]?”

The review team is also asked to “consider eliminating the town meeting as a tool of town government.”

Mr Holian believes strongly that the town meeting should be put to rest.

“People in New England look at the town meeting as sort of a government icon, but when the town gets to be of this size it’s not representative of the town’s populace.”

While residents can attend a town meeting and vote on town issues, Mr Holian pointed out that the meetings are held in the evenings and might exclude the attendance of older drivers who do not want to go out at night, people out of town, or those without transportation, for example.

Broadening the charter review team’s overview, the charge also states, “You may, of course, consider matters and issues of your own choice.”

The existing Newtown Town Charter, which Mr Holian describes as “a little constitution” for the town, calls for its own revision every five years. The last revision committee formed in 2001, board members explained.

The charter is a “cookbook of town government; who does what, when, how, and why,” Mr Holian said.

“It’s our rules of government — how it’s formed, governed, and run,” he explained.

The review committee selection process is ongoing as a Legislative Council subcommittee reviews résumés and applicants for the positions.

Although the process is not completed, Mr Holian said a number of people are under consideration. The team will have 18 months to complete its charge.

Newtown’s existing charter can be viewed in its entirety by visiting www.newtown-ct.gov, and selecting the charter button on the town’s website.