SEYMOUR – The Board of Selectpersons could ask voters to eliminate the annual town budget meeting this November.

Following a public hearing on proposed charter changes Aug. 5 where no members of the public spoke, the Board unanimously voted to recommend elimination of the annual town budget meeting.

The suggestion was not one of the changes proposed by the Seymour Charter Revision Commission earlier this year. A joint meeting between the Selectpersons and the commission has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 19 at town hall.

Any suggested changes to the Seymour Town Charter are ultimately up to Seymour voters.

In order to get questions on the November 2025 ballot, officials said a final report on the suggested charter changes would need to be approved by the Selectpersons by September 2025.

The charter is the blueprint for local government, spelling out everything from the length of terms to the responsibilities of a given board or commission.

Members of the charter revision commission have listened to suggestions from town officials and residents about changing the charter. The commission’s draft report to the Selectpersons was discussed at length following Tuesday’s public hearing. Nothing has been finalized yet.

Selectpersons Say Town Meetings Take Power Away From Elected Officials

The charter currently provides for an annual town meeting. If 50 registered voters show up, they have the power to reduce either the town or school budgets.

The annual meeting usually draws small numbers. But this past April, more than 200 people showed up, and voted to reduce the proposed Seymour school budget by $750,000.

Some of the Selectpersons said they want to see the annual meeting gone for good.

“It seems a little antiquated,” said deputy first selectman Al Bruno. “Town meetings are very engrained in New England history and culture, and we’ve become a much bigger town. (The town meeting) also usurps the authority of our elected officials on these boards who wrestle with these budgets, especially our Board of Finance. It allows for a minority voice or two to come into the town meeting and decrease or delete items that we believe, as a board of finance and board of selectpersons, that should be put forward (to a referendum vote). It’s just taking power away from our boards.”

Bruno said that there are numerous opportunities for residents to weigh in on the budget process, prior to them getting the final say so at the annual budget referendum.

“To allow people to come to the town meeting and just unilaterally pick a number and cut our budget, either on the town side or Board of Education side, to me seems criminal. I’m definitely not a fan of that. It’s a slap in the face to our elected officials to have someone come in and cut a budget by just pulling out a random number.”

First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis agreed the annual meeting is not necessary.

“We have our budget workshops where people can come in and voice their opinions, and those meetings are always open to the public,” Drugonis said.

The Selectpersons agreed that once the finance board approves a budget, that it should then go directly to a vote of the public at the annual budget referendum.

Some of the other proposed charter changes include:

*Adding the title of ‘First Selectperson’ in addition to the existing First Selectman and First Selectwoman references in the document

*Changing the date of the annual town budget referendum to the third Tuesday in April, and then every other Tuesday going forward if additional referendums are necessary (currently, the referendums are held on Thursdays)

*Increasing the amount of appropriations required by a special town meeting vote from $100,000 to $150,000

*Requiring the First Selectperson to be responsible for the development and implementation of a three-year strategic plan

*Requiring the town and the Board of Education to jointly plan, develop and implement a shared services relationship, that includes human resources, IT, financial management, facility operation and maintenance and any other administrative, operational or support services to promote efficiency, reduce costs and enhance delivery of public services to residents.

A draft of the proposed charter changes can be found online on the town website.

Members of the charter revision commission include Kevin Atterberry (D), Tom Gardella, (I), Tara Miller (R), John Stelma (D), Richard Peck (R), Naveen Madivala (U) and John Lombardo (R).

The last vote on charter changes took place in 2018. Voters approved three of eight suggestions. Click here for more.