Duly Sworn, The Charter Panel Begins Its Work

By Steve Bigham

The Charter Revision Commission began what should be a lengthy journey through the town’s system of government at its inaugural meeting Wednesday night.

Members elected a chairman, set each Thursday as their meeting date, and briefly introduced themselves to each other. This group of 12 is going to spend a lot of time together in the coming months. They will study the town charter to determine if any revisions are necessary.

On Wednesday, they elected retired New York City bank CEO Bill Sheluck as chairman. He received nine votes to Jack Rosenthal’s three. Mr Rosenthal was elected vice chairman.

Town Clerk Cindy Simon, who ran the meeting until a chairman was chosen, noted that the commission appears to have a well-balanced membership with representatives from many sectors of life, including newcomers to town, longtime residents, retirees, people who are still working, and present and former town board members.

Member Al Cramer believes the charter needs to be thoroughly examined and updated to meet the needs of this growing community.

Owen Carney, a retired captain of the Newtown Police Department, said he swore he would never become involved in the inner workings of the town after he left the force. “But I miss it,” he said.

George Carracciolo suggested the commission agree from the outset that it should be committed to taking its recommendations all the way to the people, even if it means going over the head of the Legislative Council.

“If the public says ‘no,’ I’d feel better, but I don’t want to work on this for more than a year and then have it rejected by the council,” Mr Carracciolo said.

The council can veto any recommendations made by the Charter Revision Commission or it can simply pass them on to the voters. Other members suggested the commission simply set a goal that the commission work together to gain consensus on each issue. If we do that, noted Kevin O’Neil, the council will have a hard time turning any of our recommendations down.

 Legislative Council Chairman Pierre Rochman was also on hand Wednesday to wish the commission well. He called it a thankless job, but also a very responsible one.

“I know you are all doing this because of your commitment to the town,” he noted.

The council chairman also apologized to the commission for the “frivolous” manner in which the council submitted suggestions for charter changes. He explained that, against his will, other town officials, in addition to the council, were permitted to include suggestions for charter changes in the formal charge to the commission, including First Selectman Herb Rosenthal and Finance Director Ben Spragg.

“I don’t think the Legislative Council has helped out at all. They’ve thrown the kitchen sink and the toilet bowl at you,” he said.

Last week, the Legislative Council finally agreed on a charge to give the 12-member board. It reads:

“The Charter Revision Commission is charged with reviewing the Newtown Charter and with making recommendations to 1) make no changes or 2) make changes which will improve the process, procedures, or structures used to govern the town. In particular, the commission’s attention is called to the attached suggestions. In calling the commission’s attention to these suggestions the council is by no means endorsing the merit of any of them, but merely requests examination of these and response thereto.”

In addition, the council has requested that the Charter Revision Commission provide: 1) present charter wording and recommended new wording; 2) the pro and con arguments for each recommendation; 3) the date acquired and needed to support the arguments; and 4) a statement of the impact of the change on the “balance of power” among the branches of town government necessary and inherent in a democracy.

The tone of this week’s council discussion indicated that members see the need for many charter changes. However, the final decision on what should or should not be amended lies with the Charter Revision Commission members, who are not obligated to act on the council’s suggestions.