Do We Need To Go Back 25 Years?

To the Editor:

The November ballot will carry a question to form a Board of Finance. A Board of Finance would not be new to our town. Some 25 years ago I served as first selectman of Newtown at which time we operated with a Board of Finance. The need for a change in the management of the financial matters of our town was evident when the Board of Selectman appointed a Charter Revision Committee to study and make recommendations to improve the way in which business was to be conducted in our rapidly growing town. Our yearly budget was faced with referendum after referendum and the town’s only say was to approve or to reject the proposed budget by town meetings or referendums. After a great deal of study which included the way other towns managed their finances, the Charter Revision Committee submitted a recommendation to have an 18-member Representative Legislative Council elected by District to operate the financial matters of our town. The major recommendations included establishing a financial officer and purchasing and biding procedures. The voters approved these changes at a town election recognizing the need for improvement.

However, over the years other Charter Revision Commission recommendations and changes expanded the role of the Legislative Council and reduced the number of legislative representatives to twelve. These changes caused the council to pay less attention to their primary area of responsibility, financial matters.

One must read the Town Charter to recognize that it is the responsibility of the members of the Council to manage financial affairs of the town, not that of a subcommittee.

Currently the recommendation from the Charter Revision Commission is to go back to a Board of Finance and eliminate the Board of Selectmen. I am not sure what these changes do to the responsibility of the Legislative Council, however I do know we are creating another layer of government that will not improve matters but add more confusion to our form of government.

We in Newtown should be grateful to have people that give the time and effort to serve on committees such as the Charter Revision Committee even when we do not agree with what they have proposed.

Frank R. DeLucia

4 Hyvue Drive, Newtown               October 30, 2001