IPN Council Members Weigh In On Charter And FFH Issues

By John Voket

Three Legislative Council members sent letters to the Board of Selectmen and the Charter Revision Commission this week hoping to influence the commission’s pending recommendations on how the town votes on budget matters and the selectmen’s negotiation of leases at Fairfield Hills.

Both letters were provided to The Bee November 17 by District 2 Councilman Gary Davis, one of the signatories along with District 1 Councilman Kevin Fitzgerald and James Belden of District 3. All three were elected on the Independent Party of Newtown line in the local elections in 2009. Both letters were also discussed during a regular council meeting later that evening.

The four-page letter to the charter commissioners outlined the councilmen’s request to permit the public to vote on whether or not to split the budget ballot between the school and town proposals, instead of voting on a single townwide budget request.

That memo also suggested an alternative to the language of advisory questions the charter panel had already voted to recommend to the full council, as well as a request to abandon formalizing a finance board role in the deliberation process if a budget vote was to fail.

The charter panel voted 4-2 during its last meeting to recommend one charter change beyond its charge, and that was to formally specify an advisory role for the Board of Finance to the council within 48 hours of a failed budget referendum.

During the opening of Wednesday’s meeting, Jeffrey Capeci referred to one of the letters at length. The council chairman expressed his concern that the memo appeared to be signed by the IPN council members in an attempt to exert influence in their capacity as elected representatives.

 Mr Capeci said the three did not identify themselves as speaking on their own behalf as citizens. And he said by signing as Legislative Council representatives, it was left to the reader to determine if the requests in that letter came from concerned citizens, or officials who participated in seating and charging the charter commission.

‘Completely                   Inappropriate’

Mr Capeci suggested the net effect of the three council members’ correspondence “could be interpreted as cause to confer greater influence on their letter than that would be given to a letter from any other resident.”

“The authors’ actions could circumvent the charter amendment process defined in state statutes by unduly influencing the commissioners as they deliberate on recommendations that will ultimately come back to this council,” Mr Capeci said. “If these individuals harbor strong convictions on items in this charge it is appropriate to speak as citizens during public participation [at regular commission meetings], or during hearings the Charter Revision Commission holds.”

The chairman reminded the entire council that its members will have an opportunity to influence the outcome after charter commissioners deliver their final recommendations, and said it was “completely inappropriate” for the IPN councilmen to assert themselves into the process at this time.

“Their actions demonstrate a lack of respect for the process, and an ‘ends justify the means attitude.’ I’d like to take this opportunity to remind all council members that this type of communication is inappropriate and should not happen again,” Mr Capeci concluded.

Judge William Lavery, the charter commission chair, said he had not received the letter when contacted by The Bee on Wednesday, so he could not comment. Judge Lavery did say it was his practice to make commissioners aware of every piece of communication he receives, and he would do so if and when he receives the memo.

The charter chairman also pointed out that Mr Fitzgerald already appeared before his panel on November 5, articulating support for allowing residents to vote on whether to bifurcate or split the school and town budget requests into separate budget ballot measures.

Second Letter On         Fairfield Hills

Prior to this week’s council meeting, First Selectman Pat Llodra said that suggestions made in the second memo requesting the town suspend negotiating all leases at Fairfield Hills until a townwide space needs study is completed “would effectively kill the possibility of Kevin’s Community Center relocating back to Fairfield Hills.”

To that end, Mrs Llodra said such action would also force the town to walk away from a half-million-dollar grant tied to the development of a community medical clinic at Fairfield Hills.

During Wednesday night’s council meeting, Mr Fitzgerald defended his action, pointing out that by agreeing to accept the $500,000 state grant to develop a Kevin’s Community Center facility in the duplex arena at Fairfield Hills, taxpayers would be required to underwrite annual debt service on $350,000 for proposed capital improvements required to extend utility services to that part of the town-owned campus.

Mr Belden added that he has the experience of “walking away from grants” when he assessed those grants would ultimately cost more than they were worth.

Mrs Llodra said she wanted to take the possible development of KCC at Fairfield Hills as far as it could go before declining the grant. And she noted that while the councilmen’s memo focuses on the first selectmen’s request to put implementation of full-day kindergarten on hold until a space needs study is completed, the issue of the clinic relocating back to Fairfield Hills has been on the table for years.

Mrs Llodra acknowledged that there were several other issues that could ultimately affect whether the clinic would reestablish at Fairfield Hills, particularly the ability to completely repurpose the duplex for clinic operation within the half-million-dollar constraint.

She also clarified some perceived risks the town would have to take in accepting the grant. Chief among those risks would be the town guaranteeing a continually operating medical clinic at that location for at least ten years.

Mrs Llodra said that given the fact that KCC has already successfully existed for nine years, and that the medical use of the developed facility was not exclusive to KCC’s occupancy, she felt comfortable pursuing the development and its grant underwriting as far as she could on behalf of the town.

Mr Belden agreed near the end of the meeting to back a motion to support the completion of the town space needs assessment. Unlike a previous resolution from the finance board and a letter from Mrs Llodra to school board Chairman William Hart, the council resolution did not stipulate a request to the school board regarding implementation of full-day kindergarten.

Mr Fitzgerald was the sole vote against the council resolution, which is not binding. Mr Davis did not attend the November 17 council meeting.