To the Editor:

The Newtown Board of Selectmen’s Town Administrator Working Group has been meeting to evaluate whether alternatives to Newtown’s BOS structure “would enhance the management, oversight and continuity of town government.” In other words, can we make the job of First Selectman (or woman) more efficient and our officeholders more knowledgeable and less influenced by current political winds. It’s an admirable, bipartisan way to plan for the future, and we should all pay some attention to their efforts.

Unfortunately, although their work is important their scope may be too narrow.

Newtown voters must be the primary source of authority for our town government, so a “Town Administrator,” who would be a town employee and report to the First Selectman, would not take political accountability away from the First Selectman, but might offer some relief of workload. It’s a good first step.

But there’s something else at work here that deserves deeper consideration. Although it hasn’t happened here yet, biannual turnover in the Office of First Selectman and our other elected officials could lead to unsettling shifts in policy and require constant training and education of new officeholders, both of which would adversely impact the performance of town departments and residents’ well-being. In addition, people who try to recruit new officeholders learn that many highly qualified residents are reluctant to participate in our civic life, both because of a contentious political atmosphere and by the personal financial sacrifices that volunteering for these time-consuming positions can have.

Some officials feel that a professional Town Manager, replacing the elected Selectmen and reporting to the Legislative Council, would resolve these issues, but that’s a move in the wrong direction. We need to keep voter participation and input as high as it can be, but we need the structure of our town government to be smarter.

The goal of steadier municipal government for Newtown would be best served by maintaining the present structure but allowing longer staggered terms for our elected officials. If experienced leadership is a goal, and input from voters is an imperative, implementing staggered terms and longer terms meets both goals. Newtown should also consider expanding the size of the Legislative Council from twelve to fifteen members to allow each Council member to specialize a bit more. These changes, taken together, would mitigate much partisan back and forth and allow the development of more knowledgeable officeholders.

These changes would require a change to the Town Charter, a process which is still several years away.

Because these would be big changes, we should get a running start on studying them. The next Board of Selectmen, elected this November, should appoint a commission to continue and expand upon this Working Group’s efforts. That Commission could then report its recommendations and findings to the next Charter Review group for possible inclusion in the next referendum. It’s an alternative that deserves thorough study, one that we have some time now to consider.

Peter Schwarz

Newtown

Editor’s Note: The Legislative Council can initiate a Charter review and Charter Revision Commission at any time — so the current council could entertain your suggestion as early as its next meeting.