The Legislative Council met in person at the Municipal Center, with a call-in option, on November 18, to discuss the upcoming Charter Revision process.

Legislative Council Chair Paul Lundquist informed everyone that the town charter was last reviewed in December 2016 and, since it must be reviewed every five years, it was time to start the process for creating the Charter Revision Commission for 2021.

“Per charter, within five years after submission of the final report [of] the most recent Charter Revision Commission, the Legislative Council shall appoint a Charter Revision Commission to review the Charter and any recommendations made by the Legislative Council,” Lundquist said. “The process to do that is to have me, as council chair, create two ad hoc committees, one is the interview committee and the other is the charge committee.”

He explained that the role of the interview committee will be to advertise and recruit candidates, interview them, then select members to serve on the new Charter Revision Commission. The duties of the charge committee will be to solicit input from other town boards and commissions, review and organize potential revisions, and create a formal charge document that will guide the Charter Revision Commission.

“What I want to do is just hold a brief initial meeting of each of these committees either Monday [November] 30 or Tuesday, December 1, to get the ball rolling,” Lundquist said.

He asked that the members send him the date that works best for them to help select the official day.

Legislative Council member Jordana Bloom inquired if there were any rules pertaining to elected board members serving on the Charter Revision Commission at the same time.

Dan Wiedemann, who was on the previous Charter Revision Commission prior to becoming a current member of the Legislative Council, answered, “If you are an elected official, you cannot be on the Charter Revision [Commission].”

After the November 18 meeting, Lunquist told The Newtown Bee that its Charter Interview Committee will consist of Dan Wiedemann, Chris Smith, Cathy Reiss, Dan Honan, Alison Plante, and himself. The Charter Charge Committee will consist of Judit Destefano, Ryan Knapp, Chris Eide, Andy Clure, Jordana Bloom, and Phil Carroll.

For more information about upcoming Legislative Council meetings, visit newtown-ct.gov/legislative-council.