Council Wants To Add Its Voice To Charter Deliberations

By Steve Bigham

In response to newspaper reports outlining dramatic changes currently under consideration by the Charter Revision Commission, Legislative Council leaders want to return to the table for talks with the commission, which it created four months ago to study the town charter.

“They are proposing some very dramatic changes [in town government] that no one really anticipated,” noted council Chairman Pierre Rochman this week. “Everyone on the council is sensitive to the fact that we don’t want to interfere with what they’re doing, but if they feel comfortable with us getting together then we’d like to meet with them.”

Charter Revision Commission Chairman Bill Sheluck this week welcomed the idea of another joint meeting, pointing out that open dialogue is in everyone’s best interest.

“The more we’re on the same page, the better off we are,” said Mr Sheluck, noting that he would prefer to reach consensus with the council now rather than get stuck in confrontation later on. The Legislative Council will need to approve any recommended changes to the charter before they are presented to the public at a referendum in November.

At issue is the balance of power that the charter panel has sought to establish between the Board of Selectmen and the Legislative Council. Since beginning its job back in October, the 12-member charter panel has concluded that the existing charter gives too much power to the Legislative Council and not enough to the first selectman. In response, it has been recommended that the first selectman be given veto power over the council and that the position of first selectman be elected for four years rather than two. Lengthening the first selectman’s term has drawn criticism from those who fear the town might get stuck with a bad first selectman for far too long.

A third proposed change, the creation of a board of finance, has also stirred up some controversy, particularly with current council members. And last week’s Newtown Bee article, which indicated that the charter panel has observed there to be little planning or forward thinking on the part of the town, drew a quick and contrary response from some council members, particularly John Kortze, who chairs the council’s finance committee. He believes the council has worked hard to plan for the future, especially in recent years.

“In the last six years, we have revised and used a valid and workable capital improvement plan. We have found additional sources of revenue to help offset taxes. We have put the town in a position to receive its first bond upgrading in many years. We have provided 85-90 percent of budget requests and kept tax increases at modest amounts at a time when the town is going crazy as far as growth,” Mr Kortze said. “We have more of a plan now than the town has ever had. I don’t know what better of a job or how much more planning we can do.”

This week, Mr Sheluck explained that it was not the finance committee or council he was referring to. “My comments are based more on the strategic thinking of the entire government,” he said. “We’re really just looking forward and believe this plan will put more emphasis on long-term planning.”

Mr Sheluck said the idea behind the creation of a board of finance to work with the first selectman and Legislative Council was to further the work already being done.

“People on the present finance committee may not be around forever. The whole idea is to try to make sure the framework supports what the town needs. What we’re saying is we’re interested in freeing up the council to do more planning.”

Mr Sheluck this week emphasized the fact that there are no agendas on the charter commission; just 12 people looking to improve the current government of the town.

Mr Kortze is quick to point out that he is among a handful on the council who were against the formation of a Charter Revision Commission in the first place.

“I think what we have works well. Don’t find fault in the process because of the current personalities. The system is not broken,” Mr Kortze said.

That may be so, according to Mr Sheluck, but he points out that the charge given to the charter panel says otherwise. Last fall, the council members passed along their laundry lists of suggested charter changes. Some lists contained more suggestions that others, and in some cases, tended to contradict one another. Even Mr Rochman was critical of the manner in which the council submitted its suggestions to the charter panel.

“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 told the commission back in October.

Mr Sheluck said his board’s work is the result of the council’s suggestions.

“The nature of the charge that we received compelled us to look at the entire structure of the town government because part of the charge suggested we eliminate the Board of Selectmen and create a board of finance. The council gave us the charge and this is part of it,” Mr Sheluck said. “We want to make sure there is a complete understanding as to why we are making certain recommendations. We think that it is appropriate that we meet with [the council] again, especially since we are at the completion of the structural framework of the govt. We want to talk about the reasoning of some of our recommendations.”

While some have questioned whether or not a full-scale review of the charter was necessary at this time, Mr Sheluck believes the timing could not have been better.

“The way it’s turned out, I think the timing is right for this kind of structural review of the government. The town is at a crossroads in terms of where it’s heading and why not have a sound structure in place that can support future growth and decision making of the town rather than make those decisions in response to problems or issues that might arrive,” he said.

The Charter Revision Commission also plans to recommend the elimination of the Board of Selectmen and has come to a consensus that the council would need a two-thirds vote in order to override a veto by the first selectman. The charter panel, which meets every Thursday night, is still discussing whether any element of the council should be elected “at-large.”