Minutes of the Charter Revision Commission Meeting held on Tuesday November 21, 2006 in the Mary Hawley Room at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street, Newtown, CT.
PRESENT: Al Cramer, Guy Howard, Joan Plouffe, LeReine Frampton, Joseph Hemingway, Carolyn Signorelli, one member of the press, two members of the public.
Chairman Al Cramer called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
ACCEPTANE OF MINUTES: Upon motion of Mr. Cramer, the minutes of the regular meeting on 11/14/06 were unanimously accepted as presented.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Ruby Johnson, Chestnut Hill Rd. expressed her concern regarding checks and balances in relation to the Fairfield Hills Authority. Ms. Johnson distributed an editorial from the Newtown Bee (attachment A) regarding the matter. She feels that the Town must develop a formal policy for the management of all Town owned property. Regarding the Board of Selectmen, Ms. Johnson feels that if the Board were increased to 5 members, they could assume more strategic planning roles.
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
1. Selectmen Joe Bojnowski and Bill Brimmer Jr. offered their opinions regarding the importance of the Board of Selectmen.
· Mr. Brimmer noted that the Board has approximately 30 meetings per year in addition to meetings of other Town groups (Board of Finance, Board of Education, Legislative Council) that are frequently attended by the Selectmen.
· Mr. Brimmer feels that the Board offers important bi-partisan advice to the First Selectman and that the Board serves important functions, especially during the budgetary process. Mr. Bojnowski agreed and added that having the board allows for different viewpoints from different backgrounds.
· Mr. Bojnowski stated that by having the Board of Selectmen, the citizens of Newtown can speak with their representation regularly. Mr. Bojnowski feels that the board plays an important role in the integration of planning between Town groups. Mr. Bojnowski concluded by stating that the Board of Selectmen goes beyond the individuals who serve in that capacity, that it is a vital part of the Municipal structure of Newtown.
· Joe Hemingway stated that if the Board of Selectmen were to remain in the Charter, the Commission should look at eliminating the possibility of having two minority party Selectmen serving under the First Selectman. While this has occurred only once in recent memory, it could potentially make it difficult for a First Selectman in such a position to move things along to the Legislative Council.
2. Town Planner-
· Carolyn Signorelli asked the opinion of Selectmen Brimmer and Bojnowski regarding a potential Town Planner to coordinate planning between Town groups. Mr. Brimmer feels that an additional position is not necessary and that the First Selectman along with the Board of Selectman currently serve this function. Mr. Brimmer noted that in businesses with similar operating budgets and number of employees compared to the Town, this function is performed by the CEO and should be performed by the First Selectman. Mr. Bojnowski and Ms. Signorelli agreed stating that if lack of planning coordination becomes an issue, the voters can choose a new group of Selectmen
every two years.
· Guy Howard stated that neither the First Selectman nor the Director of Economic Development are taking an active role in planning between Town departments and commissions. Mr. Howard feels that the First Selectman is against the notion of a strategic planning body. He added that the Charter must include a Town Planner with a specific job description so that duties are clearly defined and the function is performed.
· Lereine Frampton noted that inserting a Town Planner position into the Charter is a budgetary issue. An assistant has been requested for the Director of Economic Development to allow her to concentrate more on planning/development issues only to be removed because of budgetary restraints. Ms. Frampton added that there are many Town departments who are under staffed and that it would be difficult for the Commission to mandate what may likely be a high-salaried position.
· Joan Plouffe distributed a draft for discussion of the inclusion of a Town Planner in the Charter (Attachment B). She indicated that the most important part of the proposal is a Long Range Strategic Planning Committee that would be comprised of various department and commission heads. She feels it is necessary to have these groups meeting regularly and that there should be a full time Town employee responsible for the implementation of the plan. Al Cramer agreed with the role of a long range planning committee as important to the Town.
ACTION TAKEN:
1. Vote on Charge #21 – Legislative Council Votes.
· Upon motion by Mr. Cramer, it was unanimously approved to adopt changes to the charter as shown in (Attachment C).
2. Vote on Charge #16 - Bifurcation of the Budget.
· Ms. Plouffe motioned to take action on bifurcating the budget. 2nd by Ms. Frampton, unanimously carried.
· Mr. Howard made a motion to not bifurcate the budget. 2nd by Ms. Plouffe, unanimously carried.
3. Affirmative voting requirements for the Charter Revision Commission.
· Upon motion by Mr. Hemingway, it was unanimously agreed that the Commission must have at lest four affirmative votes to take action.
4. Commission Meetings.
· Upon motion by Mr. Cramer, it was unanimously agreed that starting in January 2007, the Commission will meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, instead of weekly.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be held on Tuesday November 28, 2006.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:
Bob Merola, Ashford Lane stated that the Commission should consider an alternative to a full time Town Planner. He feels that the Town currently has the skills between the Board of Selectmen and the Economic Development Director to drive a long range plan and that perhaps the Town could hire a consultant on an as-needed basis rather than hire a full time planner. He disagrees with Mr. Howard’s statement regarding the First Selectman’s resistance to a strategic planning body noting that he has had conversations with the First Selectman regarding the matter. Mr. Merola currently sees elements of strategic long range planning occurring.
ADJOURNMENT:
Mr. Cramer moved to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded and unanimously carried. Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:03.
Patrick M. Kelley, Clerk
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