SEYMOUR – The Board of Selectpersons on Tuesday (Sept. 2) unanimously approved several proposed changes to the town charter. Whether the proposed changes will be made depends on voters, who will cast ballots on Nov. 4.
These are the eight proposed changes:
1. Shall the Town Charter be amended to change the current budget process to allow the voters at the Annual Town Meeting to increase any proposed appropriation?
2. Shall the Town Charter be amended to clarify the budget process and make meeting dates more specific?
3. Shall the Town Charter be amended to increase the appropriation threshold for requiring a Special Town Meeting from $100,000 to $150,000?
4. Shall the Town Charter be amended to combine the Parks Commission and Recreation Commission for efficiency of operation and services?
5. Shall the Town Charter be amended by adding a new provision requiring the First Selectperson to develop and implement a multi-year strategic plan for presentation to the Board of Selectpersons?
6. Shall the Town Charter be amended to modify the requirements regarding the education and training of the Treasurer?
7. Shall the Town Charter be amended to change references from First Selectman/First Selectwoman to ‘First Selectperson’?
8. Shall the Town Charter be amended to correct grammar, spelling, terminology, statutory references, outdated provision, renumber sections and make other and technical changes as recommended by the Charter Revision Commission?
A town charter is a blueprint for local government, laying out everything from the budget process to the powers of the various commissions.
The questions come from the work of an appointed charter revision commission with input from the public, elected officials, and town staff.
A draft of the proposed charter changes can be found online on the town website.
Officials had considered making drastic changes to the annual town meeting, a step in the annual budget process that currently gives the public – as long as at least 50 people show up – the power to slash budgets before the budgets go to referendum.
Officials opted to add balance to the annual town meeting by giving the public the potential power to increase proposed budgets. That would be in addition to the public’s existing power to reduce.
“I think it’s only fair to balance out the language that’s currently in there,” Selectman Al Bruno said.
Tom Gardella, who chaired the charter revision commission, was happy with the progress the commission made.
“We went through nine months of meetings with the Charter Revision Commission, and we are happy with the professional report we produced and gave to the Board of Selectpersons,” Gardella said. “We only can encourage the townspeople to approve all eight questions that will be presented to them.”
The Selectpersons Sept. 2 meeting can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube.