Revision Commission's Areas Of Concern
Revision Commissionâs
Areas Of Concern
To the Editor:
The new Charter Revision Commission has been appointed and will soon be seated and prepared to deal with the tedious work of revising this vital document to ensure that our town government and all its agencies function more efficiently and economically. Our charter is the template for our government as it outlines how we will govern, defining the system of organization and responsibilities for town agencies and their leaders.
As a member of the last Charter Revision Commission (I also volunteered to serve on the current one but was not selected, despite the councilâs interest in recruiting âexperienced individualsâ), I would like to offer some areas of concern to the new panel for their consideration and possible change.
1. Revise the budget process to allow for separate voting by the public on the town budget and the school budget. There are many taxpayers who support this idea for various reasons, not the least of which is to better identify the motives why budgets are defeated. Having one budget held hostage to another is neither wise nor fair and frequently results in unwarranted cuts to either budget in order to get the whole package passed.
2. Eliminate the town meeting and afford the public an opportunity to vote in a referendum each time the budget is rejected. The present charter calls for two referendums and then the budget is voted at a town meeting, which because of the time, place, and format results in sparse attendance â primarily by those who voted yes the first time.
3. Change the number of elected school board members from six to seven and allow the seventh member to be representative of the unaffiliated voters of the town, which make up more than 45 percent of registered voters, but have no direct representation on the BOE because nominees can only be drafted from the two major parties. Having an odd number of members will also allow the board to attain a majority consensus each time it votes.
4. Consider changing our executive branch of government from selectmen to the town manager concept. Newtown is becoming increasingly more complicated to govern, with issues such as Fairfield Hills, development, state aid, traffic, quality of life, etc. We are fortunate to have qualified individuals at the present time to oversee the operations of our town, but there is no guarantee in the future if we continue to install executives through the elective process. Past experience has proven this. There are many towns which have opted to hire professional town managers under contract, as we do with the superintendent of schools.
The Legislative Council will give the new Charter Commission charges to examine during their tenure and this will certainly be a full plate for any group of volunteers, especially when the majority of them have never before served on a Charter Revision Commission. However, knowing the quality of volunteers that continually come forward in this town, I am confident that they will complete their mission successfully and will find the time to consider the suggestions put forth in this letter.
George Caracciolo
Schoolhouse Hill Road, Newtown                        June 19, 2006