Members Sought For Charter Revision Commission

By Jeff White

The Legislative Council’s ad hoc committee on charter revision announced Wednesday that it will begin interviewing and recruiting candidates to form the official Charter Revision Commission that would have 16 months to make changes to the town’s governing document.

Anticipating that the Legislative Council would vote for such a panel to be formed, the four council members that met June 7 to consider the issue of charter revision recently received permission from Town Attorney David Grogins to move along with the selection process.

“We’re looking for people who have a sincere interest in making the government of Newtown a more efficient function, and the way to do that is through charter revision,” ad hoc committee chairman Joe Borst said Wednesday. “We’re interested in interviewing people who have a sincere desire to really look at the charter, understanding that it is the organic law of the town.”

The interview process would be conducted by the ad hoc committee and would entertain any Newtown resident interested in giving his or her time, Mr Borst said. Although no Legislative Council member or selectman could serve on the forthcoming Charter Revision Commission, it could be comprised of members of different government offices, like Parks and Recreation or Planning and Zoning, he said.

Although the Charter Revision Commission could have as many as 15 members according to state statute, the ad hoc group determined that nine people should be approved by the Legislative Council, going on the assumption that fewer members means more productivity, Mr Borst said.

Once the council committee members make their nine selections, they would make their recommendations to the full council for approval. Once the council approves Charter Revision Commission members, they would have 16 months to address Newtown’s governing document, according to state statutes. After that period, they must return to the council with their suggestions for revisions and improvements.

There is a strong feeling on the council that one of the things wrong with the town’s current charter is the budget process, specifically, the budget schedule. Many members feel that the time lapse between the council’s adoption of the municipal budget and the referendum that would ultimately approve it is simply too long. “Budget scheduling needs to be changed,” Mr Borst commented.

In addition, Mr Borst said he would like to see the responsibilities and duties of the Public Building and Site Committee become defined more clearly.

As for other items in the current charter that would need to be addressed, Mr Borst said that while the ad hoc committee is busy interviewing future committee members, Legislative Council members would be drafting lists of what they believe should be changed in the charter. Those lists would be culled and consolidated into a “road map” for the Charter Revision Commission, once it is formed.

Although the future committee would no doubt address the concerns of the council, Mr Borst said the council had no power to limit what the Charter Revision Commission looked into. Rather, it could address any area of the charter it wanted and bring alternative suggestions back to the full council.

Mr Borst said that anyone in town interested in serving on the Charter Revision Commission should contact him at 426-4396 or call the first selectman’s office.

The council committee wants the interviews to get underway as soon as possible. Although the clock does not officially start ticking until the council approves the ad hoc group’s selections, the 16 month time limit set by state statute does bring a sense of urgency to the council’s decision to look at the charter.

Council members would like to see the Charter Revision Commission’s work completed by election time 2001, approximately 16 months from now.

For Mr Borst, the incentive to serve on this committee comes down to making Newtown’s government more efficient. “The amount of work that would be involved depends on how involved the charter committee wants to get,” Mr Borst said. “They could say that they just want to look at the council’s suggestions, or they could say that they will look at every word and come up with recommendations relative to our concerns. It’s one of those things where you could do a passable job or an exceptional job. But the important thing is that here’s an opportunity to have a say in how your government is run.”