Some Charter Changes Get Council Backing

By Steve Bigham

Not all of the Charter Revision Commission’s proposed changes to town government are controversial ones. The Legislative Council decided this week that it agrees with some of the proposed charter amendments.

Take for example the proposed elimination of the Saturday public hearing on the budget. Each year, the council is forced to conduct a second public meeting on a Saturday morning in April and few members of the public ever show up.

On Monday, council members met to discuss these “less controversial” issues and made it clear they supported eliminating the Saturday hearing. The voters will have the final say on those charter changes forwarded to them on the ballot in November.

The Saturday public hearing has turned into little more than a formality as council members show up only to leave five minutes later.

The council also agreed with a proposal to do away with the annual town meeting, another one of those “formalities” that they say has outlived its usefulness. Years ago, the annual town meeting was a well-attended meeting as residents packed the Edmond Town Hall gymnasium for what was both a civic and social event. A typical annual town meeting these days consists of the town clerk, the first selectman, members of the press, and no members of the public.

The town’s civil preparedness unit has long been abolished and replaced with what is called “emergency management.” This unit — headed by Fire Marshal/Sandy Hook Chief Bill Halstead — is required by law and works with the first selectman to carry out its duties in the case of a disaster. The council agreed that the wording in the charter that calls for a “civil preparedness director” be removed.

The civil preparedness unit had been around since the 1940s and was recognized in Newtown by the old blue and white army trucks often seen in the Labor Day Parade. Former director John Mead was credited with taking the job very seriously. During storms, the group delivered meals for the local Meals on Wheels program, provided rides to and from work for nurses, and made emergency fuel deliveries.

The council also agreed with a proposal to eliminate a requirement that budget surplus be added as revenue in the subsequent year. It also approved a plan to allow the negotiation of bond sales and refinancing with no oversight.

In addition to some of the more significant proposed changes by the Charter Revision Commission (i.e. Board of Finance, stronger first selectman; see related story), there are also some smaller issues being opposed by the council. For one, the council is against allowing the first selectman to discontinue a highway (on his or her own). It also vehemently opposes the finance director being empowered to serve as the interim replacement for the first selectman should the person in that position become incapacitated. Council member Melissa Pilchard suggested a member of the council — an elected official — be given that role.

Other issues discussed, but not yet decided upon by the council, include a proposal that no ordinance be passed that reduces the first selectman’s authority. The charter panel was hoping to ensure that the council does not try to decrease the powers given to the first selectman, but council members noted that an ordinance could not override the charter, anyway.

The council also said it will need more information before making any decision on whether or not to remove references to “cause” and “no cause” with respect to the removal of town employees.