With Some Changes –

Charter To Make A Quick Return To The Council

By Steve Bigham

The proposed charter revisions are back before the Charter Revision Commission this week after having been in the hands of the Legislative Council since June 1. With time of the essence, however, the commission plans to quickly return the proposals to the council for its final approval, giving it some extra time to complete work on the charter to ensure that it is on the ballot on Election Day, November 6.

The Charter Revision Commission needed little time to deliberate since, as Chairman Bill Sheluck points out, it made up its mind last spring on the kind of government it feels is right for Newtown.

The charter panel is slated to have a joint meeting with the council next Tuesday and then return the report to the council for its final review next Thursday.

“At that meeting, we will discuss with the council our reasoning for continuing with some of our recommendations,” Mr Sheluck said.

Last week, the council completed its review of the proposed changes and surprised a few people when it approved three of the four most controversial changes: creation of a Board of Finance, veto power for the first selectman, and the elimination of the Board of Selectmen. The move was gratifying to Charter Revision Commission members and the commission’s public supporters who believe the issues need to reach the voters in November.

“If I look back on the last couple of months, it seems to me that there was more support for our recommendations from members of the council than might have been indicated by public statements,” Mr Sheluck observed. “In the final analysis, I believe that a majority of members really kept an open mind with respect to our recommendations and whichever way they ultimately voted, I think they were expressing their reasonable opinions. What we’re most excited about as a commission is that there is every likelihood that the voters will now get a chance to vote on our recommendation.”

The only major issue rejected by the council was a plan to have three council members elected at-large. The charter panel has agreed to scrap that plan from its proposal.

“The council made a very strong argument for maintaining district voting. We accepted that argument,” Mr Sheluck said.

In addition, the council made a total of 31 suggestions to change items it did not agree with. Of those, the charter commission has agreed to 18. Among the 13 that it did not go along with was a suggestion by the council that the Board of Finance be elected by district. The Charter Revision Commission believes members should be elected at-large. It did, however, agree to lower the term of office to two years.

Also, the Charter Revision Commission is sticking to its guns with regard to requiring a second referendum on the budget if the first is defeated. Currently, a defeated budget goes directly to a town meeting where, some say, it is usually passed or rejected by a small number of voters. The council appears in favor of maintaining the status quo.

In addition, the charter panel continues to believe that special appropriations in excess of $2 million should go directly to the voters. Council members last week recommended that they be given the option of sending it to a town meeting or referendum.

“We felt that would raise a number of questions and the council would be criticized for which direction it took,” Mr Sheluck said.

The charter panel agreed with the council recommendation that a member of the Legislative Council serve as the interim first selectman should the first selectman become incapacitated. It had originally proposed that the finance director serve in that role, a suggestion opposed by the council.

The council also suggested that Mr Sheluck’s board modify the veto power of the first selectman to exclude ordinances. The charter panel did not agree with that recommendation. However, it has rewritten that section to be specific as to what legislative actions are subject to the first selectman’s veto.

Based on last week’s council votes, the proposed amendments to the town charter will likely reach the voters in November. However, it is possible that the council could revisit some of the decisions by rescinding previous motions. However, according to Roberts Rules of Order, that would require a two-thirds vote, or a majority of the council.

“Clearly, if any of these decisions were reversed, that would create an impetus for us to petition,” Mr Sheluck said. “We want to come out of this process with what we feel is the best form of government for the Town of Newtown. We’ve already agreed to 18 of their recommendations. We’ve already demonstrated a willingness to work with the council for common ground.”