Finance Board Rebuts Charter Commissioner

By John Voket

One by one, each member of the Newtown Board of Finance took several minutes to react to and, in most cases, rebut numerous statements and assertions made by Charter Revision Commissioner Guy Howard at Tuesday evening’s meeting. The comments came during the second public participation session, and resulted in a shouting match between Mr Howard and charter panel chair Al Cramer, when Mr Cramer attempted to direct his fellow commissioner to abide by the panel’s established rules of order (see related story).

In addition to nearly an hour of discourse on finance board matters and its handling of town budget processes Mr Howard made during the October 3 charter meeting, he introduced several new points this week during a discussion on the town’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

“I’m curious why the Board of Education has to negotiate [on their CIP] when they come before the Board of Finance,” Mr Howard said. “The Board of Education knows best how to spend their money. I don’t feel the CIP should be in the hands of the Board of Finance.

“I need evidence they [finance board members] have the capability to look long-term, and I don’t,” Mr Howard said.

Once the second public comment session commenced, finance board chairman John Kortze offered to appear again before the charter panel to clarify concerns or answer questions, along with any other members of his board. He then directed rebuttal at statements Mr Kotze said he extracted from a newspaper report and a taped transcript of the October 3 charter meeting.

“I find many of the statements made were inaccurate, and not based on fact,” Mr Kortze said. “I believe the [multistage] process empowers the boards and commissions.”

Mr Kortze cautioned the charter panel about being “outcome driven.”

“There’s a lot of misconceptions about what happens in the budget process, and there’s not a good understanding of the ergonomics of what the boards and commissions do,” Mr Kortze said.

The finance chair said he took issue with criticism from Mr Howard about the individual rules governing the respective boards and the Legislative Council.

“Every board and commission has a right to establish rules as long as it is not in conflict with the charter and the statutes,” Mr Kortze said. “And I think if you ask the public if having rules about capital spending guidelines is a good thing, I think the answer would be ‘yes.’”

Finance board vice chairman James Gaston agreed with Mr Kortze, saying competing interests are a core aspect of any democracy.

“If you want a system where everyone thinks alike, I suggest China,” Mr Gaston said. He then referred to the parameters of authority on the CIP that Mr Gaston claims to have already reviewed with Mr Howard on two previous occasions.

“What the Board of Finance is doing with the CIP and budget is not in conflict with the statutes,” Mr Gaston concluded.

Finance Board member Harrison Waterbury said he has served as an accountant or in a financial advisory capacity nearly his entire life.

“The accounting department is never liked,” Mr Waterbury said.

Another member, John Torok, said he encouraged the charter commissioners to “do their homework before making inaccurate statements.”

“It does an injustice to the Board of Finance and everybody involved in the budget process,” Mr Torok said.

Finance board member Joseph Kearney asserted his idea that the Charter Commission should only take up a single issue, to address a stipulation that prevents the town from managing its annual budget surpluses. He acknowledged, however, that it might not be practical for a Charter Commission to act on a single item when there are so many other important points to address.

Michael Portnoy took his turn implored charter commissioners to take the overwhelming advice and input from numerous town officials and its own members who support retaining the advisory skills and independence of the Board of Finance.

After the meeting Mr Portnoy pointed out that Mr Howard might have a vested interest in supporting school board financial agendas since his wife is a teacher with the Newtown school district.

Upon being asked about a potential conflict, Mr Howard said he and his wife seldom discuss issues related to his Charter Commission duties at home. He then pointed out that fellow commissioner LeReine Frampton is a school bus contractor and a paid registrar for the town, and asked why she was not being asked about a potential conflict.

Ms Frampton responded in a written statement saying: “I am employed by both sides of the government. I am not there to represent either one of them, I am there to represent the voters. I am making my decisions by what I have been told and what I have seen at both the budget referendum and the November elections.”