Time To Act On Charter Is Now

To the Editor:

The first selectman of Newtown would have you believe that a NO vote on the changes to town government recommended by the Charter Revision Commission is really a YES vote – implying that you will automatically be able to vote on these same proposals next November. The first selectman has no power to call a Charter Revision Commission. He has no control over such a commission once it is formed. He should not be deceiving the voters of Newtown.

This election-year promise has the following serious drawbacks:

* The Legislative Council is not required to appoint another Charter Revision Commission until August 2006. Eight of the 12 members of the Legislative Council must vote in favor of the appointment.

* The idea of reappointing the same 11 members as served on this most recent commission is unrealistic. The time and effort they expended may preclude some or all of them from volunteering for this position again. Even if the current group could be reassembled, a Charter Revision Commission, by state law, is a truly independent body – it can look at any part of the charter. In addition, members of the public who would attend the Charter Revision Commission’s public hearings and meetings have a right to offer new recommendations – the charter that governs our town has never had as much attention as it received this past year!

* All this said, let’s assume that the new Charter Revision Commission changed not a word of the proposed Charter. The Legislative Council still has the final say on what is placed on the ballot and it alone writes the ballot questions. It is unrealistic to think that a new council would give its approval to the current recommendations without comment. Would the new Charter Revision Commission be forced to petition yet again to collect nearly 2,000 signatures to get these changes on the November 2002 ballot?

Have we lost confidence in our town “leaders”? If the first selectman can’t name six people to a Board of Finance in 30 days, how quickly will he respond on our behalf when faced with a crisis? It is a simple procedure for the first selectman to appoint a Board of Finance for an interim period. In addition, the first selectman has failed to announce that he has a legal opinion that would allow the voters to elect a Board of Finance as early as March. Therefore, there is no reason the Board of Finance can’t be elected when we all vote for the Annual Town Budget next spring.

The time to act is now! We need a town government that works for today, tomorrow, and years to come. We need a balance of power between our executive, legislative and financial bodies. We need long-term planning and vision. We need to hold the first selectman accountable for his actions. All these things are included in the new proposed charter. On November 6th, there is only one way to vote YES on these charter changes – and that is to vote YES on all five charter revision questions. This is probably your only chance to be heard on these important – and needed – changes to our government.

William Sheluck, Jr.

Amy Winterroth Sheluck

36 Greenleaf Farms Road, Newtown         October 24, 2001