Petition Drive Begins As Council Rejects Charter Revisions

By Steve Bigham

The Legislative Council had its final say on charter revision Wednesday night, voting to reject many of the major changes being proposed. Topping the list was the Board of Finance idea, called the centerpiece of the Charter Revision Commission’s work, which was defeated 7-4.

The Board of Finance rejection delighted council members Melissa Pilchard and Pierre Rochman, who have vocally opposed the plan from the start. The decision, however, may weave a twisted web of problems for the council since the Charter Revision Commission practically re-wrote the town charter. Almost everything proposed was inter-twined. As council attorney David Chipman pointed out this week, redrafting the proposed charter will not simply be a matter of omitting the words “Board of Finance.”

Many observers said the council created a “mess” when it rejected the amended charter “in part.” Those deletions will affect large sections of the overall document, rendering it dysfunctional, they said. The best route, Mr Chipman said, would have been to approve or reject the new charter in its entirety.

  Charter Revision Chairman Bill Sheluck announced Thursday morning that he will lead a petition drive to ensure that the Board of Finance proposal gets on the November 6 ballot. However, he and his fellow charter board members will have to do so as private citizens since the commission ceased to exist after the council’s final vote. They will have two weeks to collect approximately 1,400 signatures from Newtown residents, or ten percent of the electorate.

  Before that, however, the council itself must figure out how to delete certain portions of the proposal without changing the document’s meaning. How will they do it? Mr Rochman did not return a phone call Thursday morning.

“The Board of Finance is ‘enmeshed’ in the charter and removing it could seriously jeopardize the workings of town government under the proposed charter,” Mr Sheluck said.

 The council did approve the elimination of the Board of Selectmen and veto power for the first selectman in all cases, except ordinances. It voted against holding a second budget referendum (instead of a town meeting) if the first referendum vote failed.

Mr Sheluck said he expected the council to reject the board of finance proposal.

“I had a feeling this was coming, but at the same time we have to recognize that we accomplished a great deal,” he said. “We will be presenting to the voters a restructured charter which is a vast improvement to the present one. A majority of our recommendations have been accepted and we now can achieve a greater balance of power between the branches of government.”

Still, he said, the Board of Finance was what held the Charter Revision Commission’s proposal together and he plans to do whatever it takes to let the voters have the final say. The board — formerly known as the Charter Revision Commission – was slated to meet Thursday night of this week to talk over strategy.

Early on Wednesday, Mr Chipman informed the council that it had three options when it came time to vote on the proposal. It could reject it, approve it or reject it in part, the latter of which could be problematic, Mr Chipman said.

“What if we reject it in part?” council member Will Rodgers asked.

“I would probably advise you consult other counsel,” Mr Chipman said, half-joking. “You would have to re-write the document as best as you could, doing as little damage as possible.”

The council struggled with this for nearly two hours and attempted to both approve and reject the proposed plan in its entirety. Both votes failed.

Mrs Pilchard, Mr Rochman and Ruby Johnson were the only members voting to reject the whole thing, while Peggy Baiad, Don Studley and Joe Borst cast the only votes to approve it all. In the end, the council was forced to take each item piecemeal, dragging the meeting out until nearly midnight.

Brian White was out of town and unable to attend the meeting.

Mrs Baiad wondered why the council was going through all the trouble just to reject the Board of Finance.

“It’s going to be on the ballot anyway, so why are we going through all this angst?” she asked.

Mr Rochman felt Mrs Baiad was assuming “an awful lot.”

Mr Borst voiced his concern that five council members were voting on the issue despite the fact that they were not seeking re-election: Mr Rochman, Mrs Pilchard, Mrs Johnson, Doug Brennan and John Kortze. They cannot be held accountable for their votes, Mr Borst said.

Mr Rochman took exception to the suggestion and said he took the opposite viewpoint, pointing out that those members have no vested interest since they are not seeking re-election.

Those voting against the Board of Finance were Mr Rochman, Mrs Pilchard, Rodgers, Mr Kortze, Mrs Johnson, Tim Holian, and Mr Brennan. Mr Borst, Mrs Baiad, Mr Studley and Dan Rosenthal voted in favor.

Charter Revision Commission member Jane Sharpe said that for more information about the petition drive, residents can call her at 426-5539.