To the Editor:

I will vote “YES” to the proposed charter change to eliminate the Board of Finance (BOF) as an elected body. The “charge” from the previous Legislative Council to the Charter Revision Commission dated March 3, 2021 provides many good reasons for the change, and I have added my own commentary to each point made in the charge.

“The Legislative Council is and has been the Fiscal Authority in Newtown and that the Board of Finance in Newtown is an advisory body that makes recommendations to the LC.” — CRC Charge

It would be easy to make the mistake of thinking that eliminating a board called “Board of Finance” could put the town at financial risk. But as noted in the statement above, the fiscal authority has been vested in the Legislative Council for decades. Additionally, many triple-A bonded towns have fewer layers of oversight than Newtown does.

“Multiple boards and members of the public expressed concern about the duplication of efforts and redundancies.” — CRC Charge

The duplication of effort is the epitome of wasteful government. The repetition between meetings is significant (just pull up the agendas from the Board of Selectmen, BOF, and the LC over a couple of months — the same items appear over and over) and demands that volunteers and town employees spend a lot of time addressing the same questions, but in separate conversations. The additional resources needed — clerks, video staff, and printed materials — are not inconsequential.

Newtown has been fortunate to have talented people serve on the Board of Finance, people who have contributed to the fiscal well-being of our town. What would truly benefit Newtown, though, is to have those talented people serve on the body with fiscal authority so that they contribute to financial conversations and decisions directly.

“Having two similar elected bodies in series in the review process confuses said process for members of the public.” — CRC Charge

As an example, two public hearings occur during the budget process per Charter. Does the public need to tune in to the months of repetitive discussions and address multiple boards to be informed and heard?

“Many of our neighboring communities have only one level of review prior to referendum/town meeting.” — CRC Charge

This difference puts Newtown at a disadvantage when hiring administration because of Newtown’s reputation for complex and time-consuming appropriations processes.

“Prior to the existence of a Board of Finance in Newtown, the budget, capital planning, and appropriations process went directly to the LC.” — CRC Charge

Let’s return to that simpler process.

One final note about a benefit of eliminating the BOF: The annual proposed budgets would be submitted to the Town Clerk one week earlier, allowing more time for absentee ballots to be printed and mailed, making voting more accessible — a very important positive change.

Join me in voting “YES” to eliminating the Board of Finance. (Representing my own views and not necessarily those of the Legislative Council on which I serve.)

Michelle Embree Ku

Newtown