Date: Fri 04-Oct-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Charter-revision-Markey

Full Text:

Charter Revision Panel Weighs Issues Of Due Process And Land Use

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

Federal law states that most public employees have the right to due process

before being terminated, but as one town employee points out, Newtown's

charter makes no mention of that.

Personnel director Nancy Markey discussed the issue with the Charter Revision

Commission last week and suggested it incorporate the law into the town's

charter.

Also speaking at the meeting was outspoken resident Jack McGarvey who made a

handful of suggestions regarding land use charter changes.

Mrs Markey, hired by the town this summer for her labor negotiating and legal

skills, was asked to review the personnel aspects of the charter to assist the

commission in making any necessary adjustments.

She explained that a 1986 Supreme Court decision stated that some public

employees are entitled to an informal hearing before being fired. The law puts

an extra burden on governmental entities.

In the landmark Cleveland Board of Education vs Loudermill case, James

Loudermill was hired by the school system as a security guard, but after it

was learned he had apparently lied on his application about his conviction as

a felon, the school board sent him a letter telling him he had been fired. He

appealed, saying he did not have the right to explain his side of the story.

"By putting it into the charter it makes sure the correct process is followed

by the town," she explained.

Due process, as the town's personnel director explained, is nothing more than

an informal discussion with the employee to allow him or her an opportunity to

respond to the reasons for dismissal.

Mrs Markey, an attorney, said putting the due process rights into the charter

is important, especially because the due process rights of the chief of police

are mentioned there.

Mrs Markey, upon the request of commission member Stan Karpacz, said she was

not prepared to make a formal recommendation, only a suggestion. She said she

would consult with First Selectman Bob Cascella before recommending due

process be added to the charter.

Separating P From Z

Mr McGarvey, concerned about the rate of growth in Newtown, suggested the

charter be amended to split the Planning and Zoning Commission into two

separate boards, citing a lack of overall planning.

His concern is that since the town's plan of development was written in 1993,

the P&Z has not yet written any new regulations for the health, safety and

welfare of the town.

"There has been no planning on the part of the town," said Mr McGarvey,

president of the Rocky Glen Area Association. "If splitting the P&Z would help

facilitate the process of writing new regulations, then I think it should be

done." He said he recently counted a total of 344 new lots pending in town.

Mr McGarvey also believes the charter should be rewritten to require

Conservation Commission members to be elected rather than appointed. He said

he has questioned some of board's recent decisions on development, pointing to

a lack of technical expertise and a willingness to listen to only one point of

view.

Charter Revision Commission member David Chipman asked Mr McGarvey how the

distinction between being appointed to a board and being elected to a board

was related to technical expertise.

Mr McGarvey cited a pending subdivision near Rowledge Pond where there are

drainage concerns. He alleged that the Conservation Commission resisted

information from both the Department of Environmental Protection and the

Environmental Protection Agency in helping it make a decision.

"It's locked itself into a fairly narrow focus," he said.