ADMINSTRATION COMMITTEE
OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
July 7, 2010 Meeting
The Administration Committee of the Legislative Council held a meeting on Wednesday, July 7, 2010, in the Muncipal Board Room in the Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
Present: Chair Gary Davis, George Ferguson, Mary Ann Jacob
The meeting was called to order at 6:40 p.m.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No one spoke during public participation.
COMMITTEE MINUTES
The Committee minutes from the meeting on June 23, 2010, were approved unanimously
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Communications Update: Mr. Davis said he did not have much to add from the last meeting. A volunteer was in the process of writing the procedures for operating the A/V equipment, which he would peer review when they were drafted. He said he had contacted Charter to see if the company would help solicit past Charter interns from Newtown to see if they would be interested in helping to videotape government meetings. Charter offered to run a notice on the Channel 21 bulleting board to encourage people to participate. The Committee discussed the issues with using members of the Tech Team because of a school requirement that they not volunteer past 9 p.m. Mrs. Jacob noted that perhaps the recording process could be simplified so that the system could just be turned on and run on
its own. Mr. Davis said there is a wide-angle camera that would encompass they entire Legislative Council. The camera could be set on that angle for the entire meeting. He said this would be something to consider if we cannot get enough volunteers by the Fall. He said he believe that September was a reasonable time frame to expect a process that would see more government meetings recorded on a regular schedule.
2011-2012 Budget Review: The Committee members present said they would like more time to consider what areas they would like to investigate within the Committee’s scope. Mr. Davis said he would be interested in looking at IT, economic development, the Legislative Council and Kevin’s Community Center. In particular, he said there should be discussion on whether the Legislative Council needed more of a budget to carry out its work. Mr. Ferguson said he could envision the eventual need for an Office of the Legislative Council with a dedicated clerk to ensure better and more timely record keeping of ordinances and other Council documentation. Mr. Davis asked the Committee members to come prepared to the next meeting to discuss next steps on the budget.
Communications Using Digital Media: Mr. Davis said he would forward the Committee members previous emails from First Selectman Llodra on her suggestions for other websites to review that might have valuable ideas for modifying the current town website. He said he would have the Committee members added to the email list for the new task force. He said they were free to participate in any task force meetings when they were scheduled. Mrs. Jacob said she thought the website had a lot of good information. Her concern was that it was not easy to navigate to get this information. The Committee discussed this, and said it would identify its ideas for improvements at the next meeting so that this information could be provided to the task force.
Long Range Planning: Mr. Davis presented the Committee with his draft letter to be sent to a variety of town government entities. The Committee reviewed the letter and discussed the organizations that should receive it. Mr. Davis said he would solicit comments from First Selectman Llodra and Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Dean. The Committee members agreed that Mr. Davis should proceed with sending the letter once he received the comments from the two town officials. The objective was to obtain as much information as possible by September for the Committee’s review. Mrs. Jacob said she reviewed the current Plan of Conservation and Development and believed it was a good long-range planning document. She noted that possibly not all areas in the town that need
long-range focus may be included, and Mr. Davis said that was something the Committee was trying to determine through its review. Both Mrs. Jacob and Mr. Ferguson noted that follow-up on details of the plan was lacking. Mr. Davis suggested that the Committee, upon completion of its review, might suggest that there be an annual Legislative Council meeting to receive updates on the progress made to achieve the long-range planning objectives noted in the Plan.
Review of Council Regulations: The Committee members indicated that they would like more time to review the Council Regulations. Mr. Davis said four areas that he would like to investigate were adding a requirement that the Vice Chair of the Legislative Council be a member of the minority party; discuss if the requirement to maintain Council records is being met and if it should be modified; consider allowing Council members to vote on resolutions in writing if they cannot attend meetings, and should the Council consider adding a standing committee that focuses on environmental issues. Mrs. Jacob said she felt a review of the current Council committees made sense. Mr. Ferguson said the minority party requirement for the Vice Chair might prove difficult. He asked rhetorically what would
determine which party would be considered the minority, noting that there were more than two parties represented on the current Council. Mr. Davis asked the Committee members to come prepared with their ideas at the next meeting.
Enhanced Grant Writing: The Committee members discussed the best way to approach this objective. Mr. Ferguson suggested taking a similar approach to how the Committee was approaching its long-range planning review; sent a letter to the appropriate parties to learn more about what they were doing to obtain grants. The Committee agreed it would discuss which groups to approach for this information at its next meeting.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
No one spoke during public participation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mr. Davis said the next meeting of the Committee would be on Wednesday, August 4, at 6:30 p.m.
Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
Gary Davis
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